7 Swordsmen from the Leaf
by Uzumaki D. Jiro
Summary: Adopted from zorozangetsu688. Naruto and the others are taken from the Hidden Leaf to be trained as the next generation of The 7 Swordsmen of the Mist village. Follow their adventures as the Mist rises to the top and crushes the leaf. Pairings: MeixZabuza, MangetsuxAmeyuri, NarutoxHarem, TentenxChojuro
1. Chapter 1 - Branching Out

"Normal Speech"

'Quotes'

' _Thoughts'_

" **Biju/Summoning"**

' _ **Biju/Summon thoughts'**_

 _Letters/Reports/Other Documents_

 **A/N: Hello, again, everyone! It is Jiro Uzumaki. This is my second attempt at writing a fanfiction. Reviews and criticism are welcome, and if I made any errors then don't hesitate to point them out, or if you have a general question contact me via PM or review.**

 **This story was adopted from zorozangetsu688. You can read the description of the story on his profile. The first 5 chapters were written by him, but I edited them for grammar errors and added details. I do not have any OC's, yet, but might include them as very minor characters.**

 **Thanks for reading, be sure to review, and enjoy!**

 **I do not own Naruto. All rights of ownership are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Branching Out**

 _'Nothing! Not a single decent recruit to be found. Dammit! At this rate, I'll never find a proper student.'_ These were the thoughts of Zabuza Momochi, one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Zabuza was a tall and a noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He wore his Hidden Mist Village forehead protector sideways on his head, and bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. Under his mask, he had a relatively narrow jawline and shark-like teeth. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and matching pants, complete with a waist-guard, pin-striped wrist and leg-warmers, and a belt around his torso to which he attached his Kubikiribocho.

As he made his way through the streets of his home, the Village Hidden in the Mist, people avoided him as much as possible. Normally, Zabuza was seen as one of the more sane and approachable of the Seven. But right now, this man looked like he was on a warpath. He growled under his breath, just now noticing all the villagers were scared by how he was acting. He sighed, calming himself down and walked on. He had a meeting to get to anyway.

Their Mizukage had noticed that some of their members were getting on in years. Specifically, Jinpachi and Jinin. They were sent on a mission to kill a high standing Hidden Leaf ninja that had been rising through the ranks. It seemed best to kill him off before another Yellow Flash was born. They came back alive, but barely. By their report the boy was very strong. VERY strong. He even survived the encounter. The Mizukage had made an order for each of the Seven Swordsmen to find a student to train in the event of their death. Zabuza had just come from the academy looking for someone to train, but no luck.

He had arrived at a wall of deep mist, so thick that even a swing with his Kubikiribocho wouldn't disperse it. He made a single hand sign, charged up a high-level of chakra, and concentrated it into the mist. The wall of mist divided and he walked through, head held high. The wall closed as soon as he went through, snapping shut behind Zabuza.

He came to stop in a clearing in a forest near the border of the village. As soon as he walked through, a kunai whizzed past his head and hit the tree behind him. A wire attached to the kunai was retracted, making it return to the thrower. He was an extremely tall and lanky man with long, shaggy, straw-colored blond hair. He wore an Anbu mask with the Hidden Mist symbol etched in the forehead, slits for eyes and a green triangle at the mouth. His neck and collarbone were covered by bandages. He wore the same attire as Zabuza, but his sword was different. It appeared to be a giant sewing needle.

"Zabuza, how nice of you to come to one of our meetings for once," came the lanky man's sarcastic remark.

"Kushimaru, throw another kunai at me, again, and I'll tie you up with your own thread," Zabuza growled. To make his point, Zabuza took hold of his sword's handle, threateningly.

The man identified as Kushimaru reached behind him to grab his own sword, but instead put his hands up defensively.

"Relax. I just need someone to fight with, since Jinpachi is still in the hospital." Zabuza took the excuse and relaxed. But a half-second later, threw a kunai to his right.

"Do any of you guys know how to say 'Hello', or do you just get used to throwing kunai at people!" A voice rang through the shadows of the trees, stepping forward to reveal himself.

It was a young teenager with light-colored hair, almost white, and purple eyes. He had on a Hidden Mist forehead protector and bandages around his neck. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, light-purple-colored pants and striped leg-warmers. He carried a water bottle attached to a belt around his waist. He was grinning at the two older men, showing off his shark teeth; a shared trait of the seven swordsmen, inherited by their bond with their blades. His blade was unique to say the least. It had two handles and was shaped like a flounder.

Zabuza and Kushimaru glared at the young man. The boy was overly cocky due to the fact that he was the youngest ninja in the Hidden Mist to be one of the Seven Swordsmen and the only one to master all seven swords.

"Hello Mangetsu, how nice to see you," was the sarcastic reply of Kushimaru.

Mangetsu sighed in defeat and leaned against a tree. He had just wanted to lighten the mood.

"Are you fuck-tards just gonna stand around arguing, or are we going to get down to business." Another of their members had arrived in the clearing. A short woman with black eyes and long, red hair held together with a forehead protector. She wore a loose, pin-striped long-sleeved shirt with a dark obi around the waist, black pants which got much looser near the ends, resembling hakama, and striped leg-warmers. Like her cohorts, she had shark teeth and bandages around her neck. Instead of one sword, she had a set of 2 swords. It is a pair of swords, each with slim and straight double-edged blades. Both blades also have an upward-curved bladed prong near the tip of one side of the blade and another one near the base of the blade's other side. At their bases are smooth brown hilts with a round grey hilt.

"Ameyuri-chan, so nice to see you again. But you should really watch your language, it's so vulgar for such a pretty face." Mangetsu used every chance he could get to flirt with the only female member of their group.

"S-shut up! And I'll curse as much as I fucking want, got that!" She glared at the boy threateningly, her face beat-red from the comment.

"Would you two be quiet? Besides, we can't start without our 'leader'." Zabuza used the word loosely, having no loyalty to the man reputed to be the strongest of them all.

"Where is Kisame-sama anyway? He's usually never late." Asked a curious Mangetsu, putting a finger to his chin in question.

 _'Kiss-ass!'_ Was the simultaneous thought of Kushimaru and Ameyuri, annoyed that Mangestu never showed any of them that kind of respect.

"He is late only when he has a prior engagement." A man appeared from the tree line, landing in the center of the clearing. He was a very large man, even taller than Zabuza. He had a shark-like appearance, complete with pale-blue skin and had small, round, white eyes, and gill-like facial markings under his eyes. He had dark blue hair, spiked upward in the shape of a fin and a mist forehead protector. He grinned at the other members of the 7 swordsmen, showing off his shark teeth. He wore the same set of clothes as Zabuza and Kushimaru. Unlike his teammates, he didn't wear bandages around his neck. His sword was mostly wrapped in bandages, but it's construction is atypical in that its actual blade is comprised from a series of downward-facing scales running along the entirety of its length until its hilt, at the base of which is a small skull.

"Sorry I'm late. Now then, let's get down to business. Has anyone found a student to teach?" Kisame looked to the small group, awaiting an answer.

"Nope." "Nada." "Nothing." "Sorry." These were the unanimous replies from the four other swordsmen.

"Me neither," Kisame sighed, depressed and agitated at the news. It was most likely the same result with Jinpachi and Jinin. Zabuza decided to comment on the topic.

"These ninja are all too soft, too weak. This village has gotten lazy after the war, just like the Hidden Leaf. We were all raised in war-time, even Mangetsu. It's why we were able to become what we are."

"Good point, but it's not like we can just start another war. And I wouldn't go trashing the Hidden Leaf either. After all, it was one of their ninja that took down two of our guys." Mangetsu commented, commending the battle capabilities of the ninja that hospitalized Jinin and Jinpachi.

Just then, Zabuza's eyes widened as he got an idea. It was stupid, dangerous, and in all possibilities could probably cause another war.

"If the Leaf ninja are so powerful, maybe we should take a note from them. Or just take them." The other's eyes widened in shock at what he was implying.

"Are you nuts?! We can't just take shinobi off the streets, it could cause a war." Reasoned Ameyuri.

"Who says they have to be shinobi?" Questioned Kisame ominously as he grinned at Zabuza. "You said it yourself Zabuza. This generation has no knowledge of the hell we went through. So I say we take some children, maybe even infants, and -" he paused for Zabuza.

"Make their lives hell. We start from scratch, pick up some brats that no one will miss. The village will just think it was a kidnapping." Although they couldn't see it, Zabuza was grinning just as wide as Zabuza as they silently agreed on the plan.

"But isn't this going against tradition? The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist have always been FROM the Mist." Questioned Mangetsu, concerned with this plan.

"It doesn't matter where there from. As long as they're trained in the ways of the Mist, who cares." Replied Kushimaru, implying that he agreed with the idea.

"That's three, how about you two. We only need four votes, then it's decided." Kisame looked to Mangetsu and Ameyuri, awaiting their answer. Even if they both said no, he just needed an answer from Jinin or Jinpachi to make it final.

"I'm in" "What?!" Ameyuri gave an affirmative nod, while Mangetsu just looked at her dumbstruck. He would have never thought that the short swordswomen would go along with something like this.

Mangetsu hanged his head in defeat and gave a weak thumbs up. "What the hell, let's do this. But what about Jinpachi and Jinin? They're both still in recovery." He asked worried.

"I can probably pick up a kid for Jinpachi. I've known the guy longer than you guys have." Kushimaru volunteered, followed by Zabuza.

"Jinin and I worked on a few missions together. I think I know him well enough. I'll pick up his slack."  
"Even so, someone should tell the old geezers. Who wants to volunteer? Not it!" Kisame yelled.

"Not it!" Followed Zabuza, Ameyuri, and Kushimaru.

"Not-dammit!" Just a second too late. Too bad for Mangetsu, who still wasn't used to the selection process the swordsmen used.

"Good luck, you're gonna need it." Kushimaru patted his shoulder and headed home to pack. The rest soon followed, leaving the aggravated Mangetsu behind in their dust.

"Aw man!"

* * *

They left at dusk, not wanting to be seen by their fellow ninja. The seven-sorry, five swordsmen were jumping from branch to branch, heading for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The village that had achieved the most advantages from the last Great Ninja War. Their plan was simple; get in, steal a kid for each of them, and get out without being noticed.

Mangetsu's conversation had not gone well. The two elder members were pissed off for being left out of the meeting, but still acquiesced with the plan. Jinpachi wanted a child that liked fireworks, a good sign of a potential user of the Shibuki. Jinin wanted a strong boy, someone who could wield the full-offensive power of Kabutowari. Ameyuri was a bit pissed at that, remembering how sexist Jinin was, still stuck in the old ways.

They arrived at the village gates, hiding in the shadows of the trees just beyond. Kisame gave the signal and they each used the signature jutsu of the Seven Swordsmen, the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

"Hey, where did all this mist come from?" Asked one guard. He and the other guard, like usual, were stationed at gate duty. Again.

"Don't know... _yawn_...don't care." answered the other guard, taking a deep yawn before deciding for a quick nap.

"Oh well, I guess it's nothing." He turned his attention away from the mist and picked up on where he left off on his Make-Out Paradise book.

The five made their way through the gates, navigating through the mist, effortlessly. They made their way to the tallest building to get a better look at the village. They decided to split up and look for the closest orphanage.

* * *

Zabuza headed west, jumping from roof to roof. He searched left and right for an orphanage, until he heard a sound. It was barking, lots of barking and howls. He headed to the direction of the noise. If he could cloud that area with his mist, it would block out those mutts' senses and they wouldn't have anything to bark at. He arrived at the top of a large, wide-spread compound and activating his jutsu.

The barking soon died down and he sighed in relief. But he heard another sound, a child crying out in the night. He jumped down to a nearby window and crouched to reduce visibility. He saw a room fit for an infant. A crib in the center, where the baby was crying from.

The child cried for a while longer till the mother came into the room. A woman with wild brown hair and red marks on her cheeks kneeled down to the crib and picked the child from the crib. She calmed the child with a soothing song, begging for him to calm down and go to sleep. After he finally went to sleep in her arms, she sighed in relief. She put the child back in the crib and walked quietly out of the room as to not wake him again.

Zabuza was trying to remember why those symbols on the mother's cheeks reminded him of something. Then it struck him. The Inuzuka, one of the oldest clans in the Leaf Village. He didn't know much about them other than the fact that they were proficient in using ninja dogs and were loyal to the end. Zabuza treasured loyalty above all else. Maybe an Inuzuka could fill his spot?

He slipped through the window, being as quiet as possible as to not wake the child, again. He snuck up to the side of the crib to get a good look at him. It was a baby boy with spiky brown hair like the mother and had the same red-fang tattoos on his cheeks. He, also, saw a white puppy, with brown ears, sleeping next to the child. He took a small handful of a sleeping powder they had brought to knock out their targets. The powder caused the boy and the puppy to open their eyes for a few seconds, sniffing the strange smell, and then quickly falling asleep.

Zabuza picked up the child and puppy carefully, and exited through the window victorious in his mission.

* * *

Mangetsu headed out towards the forest, taking an opportunity to procrastinate a little and check out the village. He heard a clopping sound and turned to the noise, kunai in hand. He relaxed when he saw it was just a dear...dear?

He never knew the Hidden Leaf had this kind of wildlife. He approached the animal slowly, so it wouldn't run away. The animal tensed, but relaxed after Mangetsu put his kunai away. He put his hands on the animal, petting its snout staring at the creature in curiosity.

A snap echoed through the small forest, alerting the deer and making it run off. Mangetsu did the same, afraid he might have let his guard down. He saw a man with a scarred face and black hair tied into a spiked pony tail, like a pineapple. The man looked around a bit, then sighed, tiredly, and started heading back the way he came.

Mangetsu decided to follow him, to see if he could find some houses out in the woods. He followed the man to a medium sized complex with a few stables containing some more deer, already asleep. This was probably a ranch to raise deer and such.

Once the man was inside, Mangetsu looked for the closest window to see inside. He found a room with a crib, obviously a child's room by the looks of it. He started hearing sound from the next room over. The man he followed was fighting with someone, a woman. It sounded like an old married couple bickering over something stupid.

Mangetsu thought that it would be easier to simply grab the child in front of him while the parents were distracted. He was conflicted with taking a child away from his parent, but his laziness beat out his morality. Being in the Mist, it gets easier to make emotional decisions like that.

The young swordsmen quickly and quietly stepped into dark room. He grabbed the child quickly and ran out before the parents stopped fighting. He quickly remembered that he forgot to use the sleeping powder. Cursing in his mind, he grabbed the bag of powder and looked down to the child he grabbed. He was still sound asleep, not a care in the world. Mangetsu grinned at the small child. _'Guess I don't have to use the powder after all, but then again...'_ He used the powder anyway, just to be safe, and headed back to where they scoped out the village.

* * *

 _'Orphanage, orphanage. Where's the god damn orphanage?!'_ Kushimaru searched frantically through the village, getting agitated because of his fruitless search. He stopped to catch his breath and take a look at his surroundings. It was a basic neighborhood with standard housing and shops. He heard the faint sound of an infant crying. He paced thinking on where to go, trying to block the sound out of his head. After a few minutes, the crying just got louder and louder, until he couldn't take it anymore.

He jumped to the source of the sound, which was the house across from the roof he was on. He found the crying child in the upstairs room, a pink frilly room with overstuffed toys and wooden playthings. He picked the lock on the window and entered swiftly. We wasn't really worried about anyone hearing him. He approached the crib and made shushing sounds at the pink haired baby, only making it cry louder. _'God dammit! Come on Kushimaru, think! Think you idiot!'_ He nearly ripped his hair out thinking of a way to calm her down. He remembered when he was a kid, he saw women at the park that would calm down crying children by holding them and making calming noises or singing.

The thin swordsmen shrugged and figured it was the best thing he could come up with. He lifted the small child from the crib and held it closely. The infant stopped crying at him for a few seconds and just stared at him curiously. Kushimaru was a bit relieved she wasn't freaked out by his mask. It scared most people. She reached a hand up to his shaggy hair and grabbed a handful. Kushimaru stumbled when she pulled on it and she started giggling. He pulled his hair from her grip, only upsetting her and making her cry, again. He sighed and went over to a chair near the crib. He sat down and started singing the only song that came to mind. It was the song his caretaker sang to him and the others at the orphanage.

Thankfully, the song calmed her down enough that she went back to sleep. Kushimaru sighed in relief and went to put the child back. He stopped mid-way, an odd feeling coming over him. He looked to the pink-haired child, sleeping peacefully. He wanted to take this child for his student. He felt it in his gut. No! What was he thinking? This child was too soft, too weak. But she was unwanted, like him. All those screams in a big house and no one to answer. He sighed in defeat and spread the sleeping powder over the child.

He was going to get an earful from Jinpachi, that's for sure. The thin swordsmen headed out, the child in tow.

* * *

 _'God, why did I agree to this? If I had just said no, I could be home in bed.'_ Ameyuri thought glumly. She was jumping through the rooftops, looking all over the area for the stupid orphanage. She noticed someone else on the move, maybe it was one of her partners.

She headed for where she saw the person, but quickly realized it wasn't one of her team. It was a Hidden Cloud ninja. She couldn't make him out in the darkness, but his flak jacket definitely gave it away. He was carrying something in a large bag, which was moving and twitching. Something was trying to fight its way through the material.

Just then she got an idea. If this guy was found dead, they'd assume that the Hidden Cloud was responsible for the children they were taking. It was perfect.

She was easily faster than him, so she quickly circled around the Cloud ninja and faced him with a crooked, fanged smile. The man was startled by her sudden appearance, drawing a kunai in defense.

"What's a Mist ninja doing here?" He quickly knew who she was just by her clothes.

"I could ask you the same," she drew out her swords, Kiba which soon came to life with lightning. The swords terrified the man as he quickly realized who she was.

"W-wait, please. I have nothing against you. Why are you attacking me?" He dropped the sack and backed up from the short woman, putting his hands up defensively.

Ameyuri just grinned at how weak the man was acting. "Sorry, you just happen to be at the wrong place at the right time." she charged him, disappearing in a surge of electricity.

The man looked left and right to try and find her and block her blow. But it was too late. He saw her land behind him, the static from her swords fading. His torso erupted in blood a second later, collapsing dead on the spot.

She was walking away when she heard a sound coming from a bag the Cloud ninja dropped. She went towards it to investigate and opened the sack to see what he had stolen. It was a baby, with black hair and pristine white eyes. It was crying loudly, tears coming down its face. Ameyuri didn't want to be caught because of the child, so she quickly picked it up and attempted to calm it down.

"Shh, Shh. It's alright. No mean Cloud ninja is gonna hurt you." She held the small child closely, rocking it to sleep. She was heading back to where the Cloud ninja came from, planning to return the baby, but stopped when she quickly realized something. If she was seen, she'd get the blame instead of the Cloud ninja like she had planned. She sighed and looked down to the sleeping infant in her arms. She smiled gently at the child, and made her decision.

She used some of the sleeping powder supplied to her and quickly ran away when she heard a search party approaching her. Before she was out of sight, she made a water clone of the baby. It would last until the morning and no one would be the wiser.

Ameyuri left the clone near the sack and ran out of there as fast as her legs could take her. Her prize clutched tightly to her chest.

* * *

Kisame was the first one to actually find the orphanage. He arrived on the roof quietly, chuckling to himself in self-satisfaction. He made his way inside, opening the lock with ease. He walked through the creaking building, sticking to the shadows to avoid the caretaker. He soon found a door to the left and creaked it open to peek inside. The room held several small beds, which were occupied by the young orphans. Kisame looked over the bunch, but decided it would be better to take someone younger and train them from scratch.

He moved on through the building, checking room to room for potential. He finally found the room that housed the infant orphans, those abandoned at the very beginning of their lives. He also saw that two of his cohorts had managed to locate the area before him, deflating his ego a bit.

"Finally decided to join us, 'leader'?" asked Kushimaru sarcastically. Kisame growled at the masked man, but stopped when he noticed the bundle in his hands. The same with Zabuza, both had already chosen their disciples.

"I see you two have been busy. I guess it's my turn now." He walked around the room looking at each of the infants, scanning for anything that would give him interest. Unfortunately, he saw nothing. Kisame sighed in exasperation and sat down in a nearby rocking-chair.

Kushimaru and Zabuza took this opportunity to look for disciples for Jinpachi and Jinin. Zabuza went first, he held a finger to each child and tested their strength. Even if it was only slightly stronger than the other children, it proved a great potential for superior strength. He finally found a child that had a much stronger grip than any of the others, but he was a bit odd. The infant had black hair and ridiculously large eyebrows. Jinin just said he needed someone strong, so he probably wouldn't care about the kid's appearance...probably. He sprayed the sleeping powder on the infant and picked him up, trying to steady both him and Zabuza's own choice and companion in his arms.

Kushimaru was up next. He put a silencing seal on the wall, knowing that what he would do next would cause a lot of noise. He threw a small explosive tag into the air, and channeled barely a fraction of chakra into it. Instead of the large 'BOOM' that the tags were known for, it created sparks in the air. It scared the hell out of the children, who all started screaming bloody murder, except their own. They were still knocked out from the sleeping powder. Kushimaru looked left and right for any kids that weren't scared of the small fireworks display, but no hope. That is until he heard a small giggle. He followed the noise to an infant, laughing at the sparks and trying to reach for them. She had light brown hair and kept repeating "boom", probably a bit older than the others in the room. He used the sleeping powder and he picked her up. Then, like Zabuza, tried to balance the two babies in his arms.

The two nodded to each other in confirmation that they were both done. They turned to where Kisame was sitting, but found him missing. There was a door near the back that had been left open, probably where he had went. They went to the back door to see where their fellow swordsman was and opened the door all the way.

What they saw was Kisame in the middle of an empty room, save an old and broken crib. Oh! And the ten dead Anbu on the ground. They approached the man to ask what happened, when they noticed that he was holding something. It was a blond child with strange whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Kisame held the child close, grinning like a shark.

"Why do you think they left this child all alone, away from the others? And why would he need to be guarded by Anbu?" Kisame asked the questions ominously, looking to Zabuza and Kushimaru who just stared at the man uneasily. It was a bit odd though, why was this child separated from the others and why the Anbu here were. This child must have been either extremely dangerous, or very important to the village. Either way it was obvious that Kisame had made his choice. And it scared the two other swordsmen.

"Well...what are you two waiting for? Let's find the others and leave." He turned to leave and Zabuza and Kushimaru followed, hesitantly.

"What about Ameyuri and Mangetsu? We can't be sure that they already found children." Asked Zabuza

"So nice to know that you care Zabuza-san, but we're fine. Thanks for asking." Mangetsu appeared beside them along with Ameyuri, both carrying bundles most likely the children.

"Good, then we can leave." said Kushimaru impatiently, increasing his speed to get out of the village as fast as he could. The others followed suit, ready to leave and not push their luck.

* * *

The swordsmen had arrived at their home village by morning, ready to take a rest. Unfortunately, as soon as they crossed the gate they were surrounded by Mist Anbu.

None of the swordsmen moved. They could easily take out the Anbu, but the chance that the children they were carrying could get hurt was too great.

"What do you want?" Asked Kisame, a bit ticked off.

The Anbu were all barely standing. They knew that these people were, potentially the strongest in the village. It would only take about four of them to take out their Kage. The leader approached them on shaky legs, stating their purpose.

"Ahem. Kisame, you and the other swordsmen are to come with us. The Mizukage wishes to speak with you."

 _'Fuck!'_ Was the thought of the five swordsmen. Jinin or Jinpachi must have told him about their plan. Reluctantly, they followed the Anbu to the tall tower in the center of the village; the Mizukage's place of business.

They arrived at the medium sized office, face to face with the Kage of their village. Sitting across from them was what appeared to be a young boy with straw-colored hair, pink pupil less eyes, and a stitch-like scar running down his left eye down to his cheek. Although the Kage looked like a child, he was in fact as old as Zabuza. He was sitting at the large desk, hands folded and staring at the group blankly. He gave a signal for the Anbu to leave, and they followed suit.

"Yagura, nice to see you, again, buddy. Don't see ya much since your 'promotion'." Zabuza and the now named Yagura were old friends back in the academy, but their friendship fell when Yagura was appointed to the position of Mizukage.

"This is not a social visit! Do you know how many laws you violated when you pulled this stunt? I wouldn't be surprised if the Hidden Leaf called for your heads tomorrow. And I'm not so sure I wouldn't disagree with the idea." He glared at the group with malice that surprised Zabuza. His friend had never acted so viscous to him or anyone.

"We had good reason Mizukage-sama!" Kisame interjected, bowing on one knee. Normally he would be the last to show respect to someone, but in times like these you needed to kiss ass.

"And what, pray tell, was that reason, Kisame?" The small Kage crossed his arms, looking at the man skeptically.

"You asked us several weeks ago to look for students, apprentices to train to replace us in the future. Me and my fellow swordsmen have searched high and low, but have found no potential that is worthy enough to fill the title of a Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It seemed logical that since it was a Hidden Leaf ninja that hurt our own, we use that power to take them down a few notches." He grinned at the short Kage viscously.

Yagura put a finger to his chin thinking it over. It has been noticed that the shinobi from the Hidden Leaf have a great history of prodigies. The Fourth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, and the young man that injured two of his swordsmen, Itachi Uchiha. All were children from that village and had risen through the ranks at an accelerated rate when they were young. Plus, it would deal a moral blow to the Hidden Leaf, seeing how he would use the Leaf's own against it.

"Very well. I will agree with this plan for now. I want each of you to hand over the children you took to the hospital for proper inspection and care. You are dismissed." He turned his rotating chair away from the five, done with the conversation.

The five swordsmen nodded and bowed in thanks. Medical ninja came into the room to take the children like the Mizukage had asked of them. The five handed over the seven infants and one puppy; Kushimaru, Ameyuri, and Kisame a bit more reluctant than the others.

They all left through the large door, each about to head to their own home. Unfortunately, someone was standing in their way. It was a beautiful woman with ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herring bone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that fell just below the knees. It seemed to be closed at the front with a zipper, and kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covered up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wore a mesh armor that covered slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wore a skirt in the same color as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wore a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals, and shin-guards reaching up over her knees. She was tapping her foot impatiently looking directly at Zabuza.

"Um, M-mei. What are you doing here?" Zabuza asked nervously. The others chuckled at his misfortune. It was well known that Zabuza and Mei were a couple, and the other swordsmen constantly gave him strife for how whipped he was.

"Yagura called me. He told me about your little 'mission'." She hissed, not pleased with the fact that Zabuza had left to do something so stupid and reckless, without notifying her at least. Steam started coming out of her mouth, alerting the swordsmen that her bloodline was acting up. They quickly left the two lovers to their quarrel, Kushimaru adding insult to injury by giving him a pat on the shoulder and a quick 'good luck'. Seven Swordsmen or not, you never want to face a pissed-off kunoichi.

As Zabuza backed up to the door where he left Yagura's office, trying to calm down his girlfriend before she accidentally killed him. He turned to the side to see Yagura smirk at him amused. _'That little punk. I'll make him pay for this...that is if I live through this'_ he thought glumly, thinking of how he would get out of this.

"Zabuza!"

"Ah!" He let out a girlish squeak and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. Revenge be damned, he just wanted to live to see tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I hope you all like the where the story is going.**

 **Seeing as how this is the first chapter, it is like the prologue. The next chapter will be the reaction of the Leaf and the naming of the children. Thanks for reading, see you next chapter! And don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Aftermath

"Normal Speech"

'Quotes'

' _Thoughts'_

" **Biju/Summoning"**

' _ **Biju/Summon thoughts'**_

 _Letters/Reports/Other Documents_

 **A/N: Hello everyone! It is Jiro Uzumaki. This is the second chapter of my adopted ff. Reviews and criticism are welcome, and if I made any errors then don't hesitate to point them out, or if you have a general question contact me via PM or review.**

 **This story was adopted from zorozangetsu688. You can read the description of the story on his profile. The first 5 chapters were written by him, but I edited them for grammar errors and added details. I do not have any OC's, yet, but might include them as very minor characters.**

 **Thanks for reading, be sure to review, and enjoy!**

 **I do not own Naruto. All rights of ownership are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Aftermath**

Morning was chaos in the Hidden Leaf Village, especially in the office of the Hokage. Uproar and arguing wrung out throughout the office, making the old Kage sigh in exasperation. _'How had things gone so wrong in one night?'_

First, there was the incident with the ambassador from the Hidden Cloud Village, who was seen the night before stealing away the young Hyuga heiress. They found his corpse, the torso burned and cut deeply, but thankfully the child was nearby and unharmed. Or so they thought. In the morning they found a puddle of water, indicating that what they found that night was nothing but a water clone. This of course led to the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi, ordering war on the Hidden Cloud.

If that wasn't bad enough, two other clan heirs were taken that night. One from the Inuzuka and the other from the Nara. Tsume was almost rabid for someone taking her son, and even Shikaku was up in arms over the matter.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. As it turned out, three children were taken from the orphanage. Normally, this would only be a minor concern since two of the children were non-important by the standards of the elders. But the other child taken was their Jinchuriki, and the child he had sworn to protect on the behalf of the late Fourth Hokage. Danzo was here, as well, using every silver-tongued trick he could to cause a full-blown war with the Hidden Cloud.

The old Kage rested his head in his hands, thinking deeply. There was too much missing information to declare a war. The fact that the body of the ambassador was found proved that he didn't take the child. When he tried to point this out, Danzo just reasoned that his guardians probably double-crossed the ambassador and took credit for the capture.

Thankfully, Shikaku stepped in by saying that all the children couldn't have possibly been stolen by just the two guards. He reasoned that someone else came, found the ambassador stealing the Hyuga heiress, killed the ambassador, framed him, and took the child.

There was still a call for redemption for the attempt of theft from Hiashi. The Third Hokage agreed with that, but they still needed to handle the matter carefully. Hiashi agreed and left. As soon as the clan head was gone, the Hiruzen sighed in relief. At least that matter was settled, but there was still the two other missing clan heirs and their Jinchuriki. _'Where ever you have gone my boy, please...be safe,'_ the old Kage gave a weary sigh, praying for the children's safety where ever they were.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Mist Village, the Seven Swordsmen had gathered in the hospital. They came to see the medical results from the children, to see if they might have any diseases or any possibility of a bloodline limit. Jinin and Jinpachi were there as well, still injured, but now they could at least walk some. They came to inspect the children chosen for the two in their absence.

"So, what did you think of the Leaf Village?" Asked Jinpachi, trying to fill some time while they waited for the Mizukage. Jinpachi had long, brown hair, a long beard which he wore in strands adorned with beads and his lips were also noticeably dark in color. The top of his head was wrapped in bandages, and he had an eye-patch covering his left eye, sprouting from under his Hidden Mist forehead protector. His right eye was violet and he wore an extremely loose, long-sleeved pin-striped shirt and black pants, accentuated by the presence of striped leg-warmers matching his shirt. Like the other members of his generation of swordsmen he also wore bandages around his neck.

"Hm! Weak security, but their Anbu were about as strong as our own." Answered Kisame, reviewing the skills of the Anbu he took down in the village.

"I think he meant scenery-wise," commented Jinin. Jinin had a dark-colored beard and hair tied into a topknot. The remainder of his face is very angular, and he has a rather protuberant nose. He had a Mist headband attached to the cap on his head. He wore a large poncho that covered the majority of his body and bandages around his neck.

"It was rather nice. For a place called the Land of Fire, they have a large variety of plant and wildlife." Answered Mangetsu, who had taken the time to appreciate another village's culture.

"I think that has something to do with their First Hokage. He had a bloodline that allowed him to grow plants at an advanced rate. Legends say that the Hidden Leaf was built out of a huge forest made by their First Hokage." Said Kushimaru. He wanted to do a little research into the village, and had found that bit of information when he was digging.

Just then, their short Mizukage had arrived and decided to throw his two-ryo into the conversation. "Yes, but such a bloodline is now extinct. There remains no one of Senju blood but Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin. And the bloodline never appeared in her genes, and so it is lost to time." He said ominously, looking off in the distance.

"Lord Mizukage." As soon as they noticed his presence, the swordsmen bowed their heads. Well almost, Zabuza and Kisame just nodded to him in respect.

"We have the results from the children's blood work. None of them have diseases, but there were a few surprises." The others looked to him, questioningly.

"The girl that Ameyuri selected is of the Hyuga clan and has an active bloodline." He looked to the short swordswoman expectantly.

"H-Hyuga. I didn't realize at the time. I found her being kidnapped by a Cloud ninja. I thought it best to take the girl and frame that ninja for our intrusion." She looked nervously at Yagura, hoping he would believe her. He turned to Zabuza and addressed him.

"As you said, Zabuza. The boy you took was a member of the Inuzuka. Noticeable by his fangs and tattoos. He should prove to be a worthy shinobi in the future. The puppy is also in good health. The two seem to be inseparable because they whimper every time we separate them." He then looked to the two injured swordsmen, who had to lean against the wall for support.

"Jinpachi, there is no sign of any disease, disorder or bloodline that we could find in the child Kushimaru selected for you." Jinpachi sighed in relief.

"Jinin." He called the attention of older man, who brought his focus to the Mizukage. "Unfortunately, the boy that Zabuza had chosen for you has a disability. He has no ability to create or mold chakra, his pathways are distorted and I'm afraid they cannot be repaired."

Everyone was shocked at this new information. They all looked to Jinin for his reaction, but the swordsman was just looking into space blankly. He suddenly spoke. "Zabuza! You chose this child because he was strong, do you keep by that?" He asked

"Yes, the boy is strong. Kid almost broke my finger." He chuckled a bit at that. Jinin even smirked at the comment.

"There you have it. If a man is strong enough, then he can break through any barrier. Besides, whoever said that you need chakra to be a swordsman? Hahaha!" The older man let out a boisterous laugh that lightened the feeling of the room.

Yagura smiled, glad he wasn't upset by the revelation. His face turned serious when he faced Kisame. The shark-faced man stopped laughing to stare back at the short Kage, and still he grinned that fanged smile of his.

"I'm not sure whether to promote you or expel you from this village Kisame." The others looked to Yagura confused. He had never threatened any them with something so harsh.

"So I take it you found something good then." Kisame grinned even wider, expectant of the news.

"The boy had a seal on his stomach. Further study of said seal told us it was an Eight Trigram Seal." Kushimaru took that time to let out an appreciatory whistle.

"That's some seal. I wonder what was so dangerous that they had to contain it with an Eight Trigram. The only thing I can think of is..." the masked man let that thought off, looking at Yagura for confirmation or denial.

"That's right. A seal so powerful could that the only purpose it could serve would be to hold back a tailed-beast. That boy is a Jinchuriki, like me." To make a point, the Kage put a hand to his stomach reminding himself of the Three-Tails housed within his own body.

"But which one? We know that the Three and Six-Tails are in our possession. But the other 7 tailed beasts' whereabouts are unconfirmed." Questioned Mangetsu

"Well, what creature has visited that village in the last few months?" Asked Yagura rhetorically.

"...the Nine-Tails" answered Zabuza solemly. He had gone with Mei to the Leaf Village a few months ago. She was going to meet a friend, but when they arrived, the village was in ruins. They asked what happened and found out that the Nine-Tailed Fox had attacked the village. After hearing the news, Mei rushed to the hospital to see if her friend was there. Unfortunately, her friend and her husband died in the assault. Mei had cried for weeks after that.

Everyone in the room was completely stunned, even Kisame had dropped his jaw. He stumbled back, catching himself on a nearby chair. _'A Jinchuriki! I knew he must have been vital to the village, but a Jinchuriki? And the Nine-Nails no less.'_

"Kisame?" Asked Yagura

He looked up to the Kage, thoughts still raging in his head.

"Do you still wish to raise and train the boy, even knowing what he is?" Yagura asked

Kisame took a few seconds to think it over. This was the first time the swordsmen had seen the man so deep in thought over something. Kisame looked back to the Mizukage and nodded affirmatively.

"Very well, we'll bring them to you now." The short kage turned his back and walked out of the room to tell the medics.

Everyone looked at the shark-faced man, trying to decipher his emotions. Kisame quickly loosened up the tension of the room with a question.

"So, Zabuza. How bad did Mei chew you out?" All the eyes of the swordsmen quickly turning to Zabuza. That question was ringing in their minds as well. Last time they saw Zabuza, he was being chased down through the village by his girlfriend.

Zabuza sighed, knowing he would have to reveal this sooner or later. "Thankfully, she forgave me after some pleading. But I had to agree to something if I want to raise the boy."

"So, what do you have to do?" Asked Mangetsu curiously.

"... Anybody want to be my best man?" He asked, awkwardly. Once again, the swordsmen were stunned. The couple was getting married? They knew it was an eventuality, but Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, finally getting hitched was quite surprising.

Mangetsu lifted his hand excitedly.

"No, not you! Kisame, you want the position or not?" Zabuza asked, annoyed.

The shark man just grinned at Zabuza's embarrassment and thought best to pile on. "Why me? I thought Yagura was your best friend, and besides you hate me!"

"Heh, Yagura and I have 'grown apart' these last few years. Besides, this is punishment for telling Mei about our mission before I could come up with something to tell her." Zabuza gave a simple revenge scheme in place for the fact that he and Yagura really were too distant now.

The shark-faced man gave a hearty laugh, but nodded his head none the less. "Sure. Why not?"

Before they could discuss any further on the subject, the medics came out with the children. Each swordsmen was handed the infant chosen by them, then the medics had left. Yagura came in a second later to get a better look at the infants.

Jinpachi was a bit disappointed that he was given a female apprentice, but he saw the spark of explosions in the girl's eyes. She was definitely a fire-starter, a good trait for wielders of Shibuki.

Jinin was glad that Zabuza had chosen the boy based on his preference on strength, but the child's abnormally large eyebrows disturbed him a bit. Sensing this, the boy reached up and honked Jinin's nose. He gave a hearty chuckle at that. Maybe he should overlook the boy's physical features when he himself had a very large nose he was sometimes mocked for.

"Have you decided names for them?" Asked Yagura curiously. While he usually didn't like to appear emotional as the Mizukage, he didn't want these children to be just thought of as weapons.

Zabuza looked to the infant and puppy in his arms, specifically the small fangs in his mouth. "Kiba." It was a bit lazy, but it seemed fitting. "And Akamaru." He said, looking at the puppy who was nuzzling into the infant Kiba.

Kushimaru took a note from that, looking to the child's oddly colored pink hair. "Sakura."

Mangetsu remembered the deer he saw at the house where he got his own child. "Shikamaru."

Ameyuri remembered that her daughter was of Hyuga blood and thought of a name that would honor her noble heritage. "Hinata."

Jinin, being the traditionalist that he was, gave his child an older name. "Lee."

Jinpachi looked at the child closely, searching his mind for a fitting name. "Tenten." the others looked at the man oddly, to which he just shrugged, undeterred. He liked the name.

"And you, Kisame?" Asked Yagura, carefully, still wary of leaving a Jinchuuriki in the hands of such an unpredictable person. Even if said person was nicknamed 'the Tailless Tailed Beast'.

"Naruto," he replied

The others were just stunned. "You want to name him after a food topping?" Asked Kushimaru, cautiously.

"No you idiot! Like maelstrom. This kid is gonna shake the Elemental Nations, one way or the other." He grinned at the whiskered child; getting a small giggle in return.

Yagura didn't quite like the way Kisame had phrased that. Now he was even surer he should look into that meeting Kisame had yesterday. He liked to keep tabs on the swordsmen, seeing as they were usually the source of his troubles, and one of his spies had reported something odd. Yesterday, just before the swordsmen had left his village, Kisame had a meeting with someone in a black cloak with red clouds.

But for now he would leave them be. The Mizukage left the room to leave the Seven Swordsmen to get more acquainted with their new apprentices.

* * *

Two weeks later, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, the Hokage, Hiashi, Danzo and some other Jonin were on their way to meet with the Raikage for an exchange. The old Kage had contacted the Cloud with the news that their ambassador was dead and the accusation of theft of the Hyuga heiress. The Raikage sent a reply, denying the accusation and sending personal medics to look at the body. The results showed that the ambassador was killed by swords imbued with lightning, a technique mainly used by Cloud.

It seemed likely to the Raikage that the ambassador's guards had double crossed him, taken the Hyuga heiress and left the ambassador to take the blame. So in order to avoid a national disaster, they had agreed upon an alliance. And to seal that alliance, the Raikage was to give the Hidden Leaf one their two Jinchuriki and the Hokage was to give the Hidden Cloud the body of the ambassador, just in case it had any secrets that shouldn't be discovered.

The Hokage and his group had arrived at the border dividing the two nations. They saw that the other party was already there, waiting for them. It was the Fourth Raikage, a tall muscular man with dark skin and blonde hair. His party contained several cloud Jonin, recognized by the white flank vests. Once the Hokage's party was close enough, they saw that the Raikage's assistant was holding a small bundle; most likely the Jinchuriki promised.

"Have you brought what we asked?" Questioned Danzo, who wished to get right to the point. Personally, the Hokage didn't want the old war hawk to come with him to this meeting. But his silver tongue was a very reliable resource for the village.

"Mabui!" The Raikage yelled for his assistant. The assisstant was an attractive young woman with light grey-hair. She stepped up to the Hokage's party and showed them the blonde haired girl in the bundle. The Hokage motioned for two of his Jonin and check that she was indeed a Jinchuriki. The Raikage, in turn, checked to see if the ambassador's body was real and not a fake or illusion.

Both being confirmed, they transferred the jinchuriki for the ambassador's body, completing the trade. Next, two Jonin exchanged packets of paper to give to their Kages. These were the conditions drawn up for their alliance. Each part would read the packets and meet in a week or so to see what they agreed and disagreed on.

The Raikage approached the old Hokage and reached out his hand to finalize the agreement with a handshake. The Hokage shook the man's hand firmly, thankful that the Raikage hadn't broken the old man's hand. They each gave a gracious smile and turned away to retreat to their own villages.

Just before they left, the Raikage's assistant approached the Hokage. "Um, if it isn't too much trouble. I was wondering if she could keep her name. I-it's Yugito." She asked the older Kage nervously, much to his amusement.

Danzo was just about to tell her off how they would call her whatever they wished, when the Hokage stopped him with a stern stare.

"It's a beautiful name, I'll be sure to remember it. You have no need to worry, well take good care of her." He smiled gently at the nervous woman who was very grateful for the gesture. She bowed and ran off to her own party, receiving a joking scolding by her own Kage for cavorting with them.

The Hokage gave an amused chuckle, watching the interaction. Once they were far enough away, he stopped and turned to the silently steaming Hiashi. The Hyuga clan head was still angry for the fact that he had no retribution for the theft of his daughter. The man was utterly confused when the old Kage stopped in his walk to hand over the Jinchuriki to him.

"What are you doing?" He asked confused, trying to calm the child who had started crying when she was passed to his arms.

"Hiashi, you said you wanted redemption for what the Cloud did. At this time, this is the best I can offer you. Raise the girl as if she were your own. I'm sure Hitomi will be pleased." He smiled at the dumbfounded clan head, who could only nod in agreement. Hiashi was trying to see this as his superior officer giving him an order. The girl was a Jinchuriki and she needed guarding, unlike their last one.

The Hokage was thankful that Hiashi didn't argue with him over this. He still had two clan heads devastated over their losses, one less helped ease his stress. At least now the village elders could rest easy knowing they had a Jinchuriki once again. He asked the seal masters he brought with him about which tailed beast the girl contained. They said that it was a seal with inscriptions that helped seal massive fire chakra and some used in the Reaper Death Seal. The only tailed beast with fire was the Two-Tails. It wasn't as threatening as the Nine-Tails, but it was something at least.

The old Kage sighed in exasperation. These last few weeks were wearing him down. He wished Minato was still around so he could retire again. Perhaps it was time to find one of his old students to take his place.

* * *

One month later, in the Hidden Mist village…

"-by the power vested in me as Mizukage, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Announced Yagura, acting as his oldest friends' priest. Yagura was disappointed that Zabuza hadn't asked him to serve as his best man, but at least he could marry his two oldest friends.

Zabuza wearing a dark blue tux, and surprisingly no bandages on his mouth, leaned forward to kiss his new wife and mother to his child. Mei returned it gratefully, she was wearing a teal wedding dress that showed off her body well. Everyone at the wedding applauded for the newlyweds, glad to see them together.

Kisame stood to Zabuza's side, serving as his best men, congratulating him and patting him on the back. Next to Kisame was Mangetsu, then Kushimaru, Jinpachi and Jinin. All dressed in black tuxes, wanting to differentiate from the groom. Kushimaru had even removed his mask for the occasion, albeit a bit forced to by the bride. Surprisingly, he had a young-looking face that drew stares from nearly every woman at the wedding.

On Mei's side was Ameyuri, serving as Mei's maid of honor. She was wearing a dark purple dress that she only wore on extremely special occasions. Mei and she didn't know each other that well, but she was still the best choice. The others standing next to Ameyuri were miscellaneous friends from all over the village.

The after party was great, drinks and wedding cake passed around for all to enjoy. The swordsmen each had brought their children with them to enjoy the festivities. Jinpachi and Jinin were stuck in the corner, not really joining the social gathering but still enjoying being part of it. Mangetsu had grabbed Ameyuri from her talk with Mei and was dancing with her, while she tried to keep from blushing at the bold move.

Kisame had even found someone to dance with, but that did have something to do with Naruto. The kid was a good chick magnet. They thought the kid was adorable, especially with the whiskers. Kushimaru was swamped with girls who were trying to get him to dance with them. Thankfully he came up with a believable excuse, and ran off with Sakura in his arms. He tried hiding anywhere he could, but his daughter kept laughing, alerting the crazed women to his location.

Zabuza and Mei were watching all the swordsmen interacting in the wedding, amused at how they acted in a regular social gathering like this. Mei was holding Kiba and Akamaru, rocking them to sleep. She was a bit disturbed about becoming a mother before a bride, but at least she finally got her dream wedding to her night in bloody armor. She should remember to thank Yagura as well. Without him, it would've taken months before they could get this all together. And speak of the devil.

"Well, how does it feel to be Mrs. Momochi?" Asked Yagura playfully. She giggled at the question, a small blush on her cheeks.

"It feels great. Thanks for getting this together so quick Yagura, we really appreciate it." She would have given the small Kage a hug, but still holding Kiba and Akamaru in her arms. Yagura was glad that he could help.

"No problem. I'd like to stay, but I have some paperwork I need to finish." He said sadly

She pouted a bit, but gave him a forgiving smile and nodded. She turned to her new husband, who was looking at Yagura's retreating form with unease.

"Zabu-kun? What's wrong?" She asked worried. She tightened her hold on Kiba and Akamaru.

Zabuza looked a little longer at the small Kage before turning back to his new wife and grinning at her with his fanged smile.

"It's nothing. Let's just enjoy the moment while it lasts." He wrapped an arm around Mei, looking deeply into her eyes. To everyone around them, they looked like a happy, normal family.

The new family was heading out to go home, but quickly remembered the Bouquet Toss. She turned her back to the gathering group of woman, ready to do the ceremony. She closed her eyes and threw back the bouquet of flowers. Unfortunately, the toss was a bit too much and the flowers went straight over their heads. When the flowers came flying near her, Ameyuri acted on reflex and caught them without even looking.

She looked down at the bouquet in her hands, blinked twice, and then blushed bright red when she put two and two together. She looked up in embarrassment, trying to hide her face in the flowers, failing miserably. She peaked over the edge only to see Mangetsu wink at her. She dove back into the bouquet, her face fully red.

Mei and Zabuza chuckled at the two, knowing they would have a bright future if they ever accepted anyone. With that, the newly formed Momochi family headed off to their new home, a wedding present from Yagura.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's the second chapter. I hope you all like the where the story is going.**

 **The next chapter will be a time skip, and a small bit of how Haku comes in to the story. And Haku will be a girl in this story.** **Thanks for reading, see you next chapter! And don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Years Gone By

"Normal Speech"

'Quotes/Sound Effects'

' _Thoughts'_

" **Biju/Summoning"**

' _ **Biju/Summon thoughts'**_

 _Letters/Reports/Other Documents_

 **A/N: Hello everyone! It is Jiro Uzumaki. This is the third chapter of my adopted ff. Reviews and criticism are welcome, and if I made any errors then don't hesitate to point them out, or if you have a general question contact me via PM or review.**

 **This story was adopted from zorozangetsu688. You can read the description of the story on his profile. The first 5 chapters were written by him, but I edited them for grammar errors and added details. I do not have any OC's, yet, but might include them as very minor characters.**

 **Thanks for reading, be sure to review, and enjoy!**

 **I do not own Naruto. All rights of ownership are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Years Gone By**

A lot had happened in the last five years in the Hidden Mist Village. Each of the swordsmen had grown a close bond to their children and officially adopted each one barely a year after their 'heist'. Even now Zabuza was walking home with his own son Kiba, who was currently riding on the tall man's shoulder, and Akamaru, who was laying on Kiba's head.

The Inuzuka, even away from his clan, still inherited the wild physical and mental traits of an animal. His fangs and claws had developed over the years and could probably tear out a grown man's throat; something Zabuza was actually teaching him, much to the ire of Mei. His hair was still an untamed mess of light brown hair, never being able to be kept combed. Akamaru had grown significantly from a frail little puppy to a stronger looking adolescent dog.

Zabuza had just come back from an Anbu mission and as soon as he got home, his son had begged him to tell him the details. So on his way to pick up some groceries for the house, since his newly promoted wife was too busy, he told the boy all he could without being scolded by Kiba's mother later.

"So how many guys did you kill this mission dad?!" Asked the excited boy.

'Arf?!' Came the excited bark of Akamaru.

"Hehehe, not that many this mission. Only about 50." Said the swordsmen nonchalantly. He had killed plenty of ninja on the missions he was sent on. His specialty was fighting against greater numbers.

"That's so cool! When do you think we'd be able to go on a mission like that?"

"Hm! Not for a few more years, and even then I'm not sure your mother will let you go on such dangerous missions where you have to kill." Even though Kiba had potential for being a great ninja, and the kid was already scrappy as is, his mother was way too protective. As soon as the child got so much as a paper cut, she stopped what she was doing and came to his aid. Luckily, Zabuza's tough love evened out their son so he could handle a situation on his own.

"Aw man, that's stupid! I wish she'd stop treating me and Akamaru like a bunch of babies." The boy sulked, thinking that his mother's over protectiveness would smother any chance of him doing any missions that would bring him closer to being as great as his dad.

'Arf, arf!' Akamaru agreed.

Kiba perked up when he noticed someone on the side of the street. It was a young girl with long black hair, and wearing rags. She looked like she hadn't eaten or slept for days. Kiba dismounted from his father and scurried up to the girl, who pulled her legs against her chest startled.

"Hey, what happened to you?" He asked curiously. Akamaru cocked his head sideways, not sure why someone would be abandoned on the street.

She only stared at him with scared eyes, her body telling that she would run away at a moment's notice. Zabuza approached them cautiously, carefully not to scare the girl too much.

"Why are you out here in the street, shouldn't you be at home with your family?" Again another innocent question from the fanged boy, but unfortunately it only made the girl upset. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes, bad memories flooding back.

"U-um, I'm sorry. W-what I meant was -!" Zabuza put a hand on the boy's shoulder to prevent him from upsetting her even more.

"Why don't you come with us? We can give you food and a hot bath. We can help you." He stretched out a hand to the petite girl, trying to earn her trust. At the very least, he could put the girl in the orphanage.

She reached out her own hand, hesitantly. She waited a few seconds before deciding, and connected her hand with his own. Kiba grinned at her kindly, trying to earn her trust as well. Once she was standing she hid behind Zabuza's leg, still not trusting Kiba. This made the boy pout, depressed. Akamaru whimpered his depression as he thought the girl didn't trust him either.

Zabuza only chuckled at the interaction, pulling Kiba back onto his shoulder. The four walked towards the Momochi home, the girl holding Zabuza's hand, Kiba on his shoulder, Akamaru on Kiba's head, and bags of groceries in the other hand.

Once they reached home, Zabuza ushered the girl to the shower while he put up the groceries. Once she was fully bathed, he made her a small meal with his minimal cooking skills. She really didn't care for the taste, just eating it up as fast as she could. Once she was full, Zabuza and Kiba were trying to get her to tell them anything about her. Her name, what happened to her, etc.

"I'm home!" Mei announced her arrival, coming through the door to a surprisingly quiet house. Now that definitely didn't sit right. She heard her husband and son talking in the living room and followed their voices. She saw them talking to a small girl, asking her miniscule questions like her name or address. She wouldn't budge. Once she made her presence known, they filled her in on the story and she joined them in trying to get the girl to talk.

Seeing how kind the red-haired woman was and how well the other two had treated her, she finally gave in. "H-Haku. My name is Haku." She said shyly, poking her fingers together.

Mei smiled kindly at her, thinking she was just adorable. "Haku, that's a pretty name. Tell me Haku, why were you out on the street?"

She pulled her legs to her chest, dark memories coming to her. "My mommy told me to run. Men came after us...my father came after us. We ran and ran, but she tripped and fell...she told me to run and to not look back...and so I did." She buried her head in her arms, tears starting to come down. Mei pulled the girl into a hug, trying to ease her pain.

"Brrrr! Why did it get so cold all of a sudden?" Kiba rubbed his arms trying to get warm. Akamaru was shivering all over and jumped into Kiba's shirt for warmth. The room had suddenly dropped in temperature. Ice was starting to form on the windows. It took a few seconds before Zabuza realized what was happening.

"You're from the Yuki clan. You're a refugee from the Bloodline Purge, aren't you?" Months ago, Yagura had declared an immediate destruction of bloodline users. No one knew why, but majority followed his command without question. Zabuza vehemently went against this decision; his wife having two bloodlines was a major part of that.

He, Mei, and some others that were against the Purge started a rebellion against the short Kage. With all Seven Swordsmen backing them up, they came out victorious; Zabuza delivering the final blow to his old friend killing him. Yagura's death led to the Three-Tails running loose away from the village and a vacancy for the position of Mizukage.

The Three-Tails wasn't really that big of a loss since the mist still had two other Jinchuriki. However the position of Mizukage was given to Mei for her help in leading in the rebellion and for her having two bloodlines.

"N-no! I'm not a bloodline user! I'm normal! Normal!" She screamed the denial in fear of rejection. The room got colder and colder as she got more upset. Mei tightened her hold on the girl, regretting that she hadn't been able to save her from losing her family.

"Shh. It's alright, your safe now. No one's going to hurt you anymore." Haku just shook her head defiantly, not accepting that she would be ok if she revealed her bloodline.

"She's right. Our last Kage was the one who caused the Purge. But he's gone now, he...can't hurt any of you anymore," said Zabuza, solemly. While he knew he had to take down Yagura in the prior Kage's tyranny, it still didn't seem like something he would do. Zabuza remembered when he put his sword through his old friend, ending his life, he saw thanks in his eyes. Like he was glad to die.

"Yes. I'm the new Mizukage, and I'm doing everything possible to help families hurt by the Purge." _'Those left anyway.'_ she thought on a sour note. "We can help you, too, Haku, but you have to trust us." She gave the girl a kind smile, hoping to ease the girl's nerves.

"..." she didn't answer, just staying in the embrace of the older woman.

"Would it help if I told you I was a bloodline user, too?" That brought attention to the girl she perked slightly, but not enough to look her in the eyes.

"In fact I have two. Boil release and lava release, and by what I've seen about what you've done here; you are definitely able to use ice release." Mei looked around at the frost covered room, pulling Haku closer to get a little warmth.

"Y-yes. My clan's bloodline lets us use ice release. I-I'm sorry for any damage I did to your house, I d-didn't mean it." Haku was almost bawling at how much trouble she had caused to the people who had helped her. Mei just embraced her tighter, telling her words of encouragement and comfort.

"Shh, shh. It's fine. I'm a Kage after all; I should have no problem getting rid of this. But maybe you should hold your breath." Haku just looked at her curiously, before she noticed steam coming from between the Mizukage's lips. She did as instructed, holding her breath, and watched as the temperature rose and the ice melted and soon evaporated.

Haku looked at the woman in awe, amazed at the power she used. Mei sweat dropped, not used to that much appreciation for her ability. All she did was make some steam to heat up the room.

"Haku, I'd like to help you anyway I can. It's my responsibly to fix the mistakes of the last Mizukage, and the loss of your family was caused by one of those mistakes. I want to make that up to you if at all possible...in fact how about you join our family?" She smiled at the child, genuinely inviting the girl into their family. She looked to her husband for support, who was hesitant, but nodded soon after. The girl was homeless, and she had already made a bond with Mei.

She stared at the woman in shock, and then turned to look at Zabuza, Kiba, and Akamaru who gave her reassuring smiles that they wanted her to join, too. Tears started running down her cheeks, she was choking on her own words so much all she could do was nod excitedly.

Mei giggled at how she was acting, pulling her into another hug. Kiba and Zabuza joined in the embrace and turned it into a group hug. Akamaru's head popped out in the middle of the hug barking, saying he was being crushed. It took nearly an hour for the girl to stop crying tears of joy, but she enjoyed the feeling of happiness.

The day after, she was officially adopted and became Haku Momochi. She would be staying in Kiba's room until they could build one for herself, but for the time being the young boy bonded closely with his new sister. The Momochi family had yet again grown, and it wasn't going to stop there either.

* * *

Twelve years had gone by since the arrival of the future generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Each had grown powerful from the tutoring from their respective parents, and now they were graduating. One step closer to surpassing their teachers/parents.

They had grown to teenagers and their bodies and fighting skills had improved exceedingly well over the years. Kiba had grown to average height, his body not changing much over the years except for the muscles developed from his years of training under his drill sergeant of a father. His claws and fangs had fully grown in, which helped a lot when implementing it into the fighting style his father taught him. He wore a large hooded coat with light blue fur in the hood and sleeves, and black pants.

Akamaru grew even more since Haku's adoption. He now stood at a height of around Kiba's knee. He, also, looked more wolf like.

Haku had grown into a beautiful young woman through the years. Her black and auburn hair drawn into a bun, as to not catch on anything. Her face had grown even more beautiful from that starved little girl from the streets all those years ago. Her outfit consisted of the standard Hidden Mist pinstriped outfit which stopped at her knees in a long skirt-like fashion. Over this she wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around her waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around her waist twice. She also wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as her kimono and nail polish on her fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color. She drew many stares from the males of the class and almost as many jealous glances from the females. This caused Kiba to be unofficially given the title of her 'protector'. It seemed his mother's over protectiveness had transferred to him, so he took every precaution to make sure guys didn't look at her like just a piece of meat.

Haku's skill in controlling her bloodline had advanced greatly. Even with no mentor to teach her, she had found create ways to use the ice that no one had even thought of, much less considered. Her skill in the boil release had become that on the level of her mother at her age. And to add to her skills, she had studied the human body. Using her superior knowledge to neutralize someone using senbon to hit pressure points. She was a rising prodigy, who only took this long to graduate because she wanted to be put on the same team as her brother.

Shikamaru was another rising genius in the crop. While he was lazy as a sloth, he had perfect scores on nearly all his tests. He had grown up to be a bit slim, not very physical. His hair was tied into a pony-tail and he wore a teal vest with the Hozuki clan symbol on the back over a fishnet shirt, and wore grey camouflage pants. The boy let out a yawn, showing off his fanged teeth inherited from his time training with his father.

Lee had grown to be a very strong young man. Physically, he was the strongest of all of them. He trained his body to compensate for not being able to use chakra, being a pure taijutsu and kenjutsu fighter. Jinin and other barbers had tried several times to alter or cut down the boy's massive eyebrows, but nothing worked. To this day, he still had his large bushy eyebrows. His hair was a bit messy, but was able to style it into a textured quiff. He wore a large poncho covering his body below the neckline, mimicking his father's style. Underneath, he wore the same outfit as the Seven.

Tenten had grown to use an odd hair style. She kept her hair in two circular buns, mimicking the ears of a panda. Like her father predicted, she was a natural born fire starter. All over the village fireworks would go off every other week in the mornings to awake the village in a large 'Boom!' She wore a green Chinese dress shirt, taking a liking to their customs and traditions. She wore baggy, dark blue pants with holsters at the hips to hold all her explosives.

Naruto was the one of them that had grown the most from his training. Like his father, his skin had developed into shark skin; being as tough as steel. His whiskers had turned to gill-like protrusions on his face. He almost looked like a mini Kisame, except for his spiky blonde hair and his deep, ocean blue eyes. The boy wore a sleeveless black shirt that showed off his body well, and black cargo pants.

Growing up, Kisame quickly noticed that the boy had taken to ramen. He loved the stuff, but his father wouldn't have him eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He used ramen as motivation, and it worked wonders. Naruto learned quickly and adapted to situations with ease. And with all the training he did, his body had filled out greatly. Nearly every girl his age in the village was after him. Unfortunately, he was already juggling two as it was.

Hinata and Sakura had been infatuated with him since they were kids. They fought for years before realizing the only way to get what they wanted and to still be friends, was to 'share' him.

Sakura kept her hair pink, but styled it shaggy, yet elegant, like her father's, and she wore a sleeveless black shirt that stopped at her midriff and matching apron skirt. She, also, wears mesh armor on her thighs, elbows and knees.

Hinata kept her red and black hair long, like her mother. She wore a violet, long-sleeved, pin-striped sweater and light blue pants. She, also, wore goggles with special lenses that helped her see while using her lightning and storm release. The girls had grafted the skills of their parents. Hinata using her mother's high-speed maneuvers and lightning release jutsus, and Sakura using her father's sewing needle fighting style. They both had planned to advance their parent's style by layering on their own techniques in the future.

And last but not least was a young boy who had grown to be a part of the group when he was a child. His name was Chojuro. He had short light blue hair, and wore rectangular glasses attached to headphones he wore on his ears. Like the other children of the Seven Swordsmen, he had fanged teeth. He wasn't related to any of the Seven of the past, but how did he get the teeth. Simple, the children of the Seven stole the Shark's Maw Jutsu and used it on him. They got a verbal lashing from their parents for their irresponsible actions. The kids were forgiven, however, when they countered by saying they didn't want to leave him behind in terms of skill and so he could feel a part of their 'family.' He was a shy boy and could barely hurt a fly. But even so, he was well known for his superior skills in fighting. The boy kept taking short glances at Haku, blushing slightly. Like most of the boys in their class, he had a crush on the girl, but he knew it went deeper than that.

Tenten, sitting in the row of seats above him, growled seeing how Chojuro was staring at Haku. Unknown to the shy boy, Tenten had a crush on him, infatuated by his shy and subservient personality. Lee sat next to her, patting her on the shoulder trying to calm her down before she tried to blow up the room...like last week.

Kiba, Haku, and Akamaru were across from them, Kiba growling at any guy that even dared to come near his sister. Haku just smiled like it was normal, ignoring the interactions going on around her. Shikamaru was beside Kiba fast asleep, small snores being released. Akamaru decided to take a page out of Shikamaru's book and take a nap, as well.

Naruto was on the top row of seats, leaning back with his feet up on the table. He had an arm wrapped around both Sakura and Hinata who were simply leaning into him; trying not to fall asleep. The majority of the class looked at the three in envy. The guys because of how Naruto had hooked up with not one, but two beautiful kunoichi. The girls glared at Hinata and Sakura because the two had stolen the best option available in their class.

The ninja in training were waiting to be called to be tested to become genin. Thankfully Mei removed the barbaric tradition in place before, where the last student alive would become a genin. As it was right now, it seemed like a better option if the village had more than just a few good ninja in their ranks.

Their instructor called the next name on the list. "Hinata Ringo!" He called the girl's name loudly to get her attention. Said girl unwillingly removed herself from Naruto and went down to prove herself to be a genin. Before she was out of arm's length, Naruto caught her and gave her a kiss on the cheek for good luck. She blushed deeply and thanked him for the support. Sakura gave her a few words of encouragement and she went off to take her test.

The majority of the class had already done the required tasks to pass. Those being the basic three techniques - substitution, transformation and clone, and at least three other jutsu. Most students used the Water Ball Jutsu as well as techniques taught to them by their parents. Lee, not being able to use chakra, passed thanks to his superior scores in taijutsu.

Hinata came out a few moments later wearing a mist headband around her neck. Her group of friends congratulated her, glad that they had all passed and were moving in the ninja world. It took an hour before team assignments could be made; having to see which teams would work well together from the ones that had passed. In the meantime, the students that passed just talked about which team they hoped to be on while the ones who failed the test left, not needing to be there any longer.

An hour later, the instructor had made the final arrangements for the teams assignments. Kiba and Chojuro crossed their fingers hoping that they got put on the same team as Haku. Naruto was sure he would be paired with his girls, knowing that their combined fighting styles worked great together. Lee was hoping to be on the same team as Tenten, them being close friends. Tenten didn't care whose team she was placed on, just as long Haku wasn't on it and her Chojuro was.

"Team 4 - Naruto Hoshigaki, Sakura Kuriarare, and Hinata Ringo. Your sensei will be Ao Saizen." The three were ecstatic to be on the same team, but not very surprised. Naruto picked both of his girls up in a large hug, they just giggled at how happy he was.

"Team 5 - Kiba Momochi, Shikamaru Hozuki, and Haku Momochi. Your sensei will be Suigetsu Hozuki." Kiba was happy as could be. He gave his sister a crushing hug, who could only grin and bear it; but she was happy to be on the same team as her brother. Akamaru was yipping in excitement at being with his two partners. Even Shikamaru was happy with the arrangement, especially since his sensei happened to be his uncle.

"Team 6 - Lee Akebino, Tenten Munashi, and Chojuro Miyata. Your sensei will be Utakata Suzumura." Tenten jumped up from her seat in victory. Lee just gave her a small grin glad they were on the same team. Chojuro was a bit solemn that he wasn't on Haku's team, but at least he was still among friends.

The instructors listed off the other teams, but none of the others really cared that much. They were each given a training area where they would meet their sensei. After team assignments, the students were allowed to leave school to tell their parents the good news. To celebrate, Mei had a restaurant set up a special celebration feast for the current and future Seven Swordsmen.

The large group had a great party to celebrate the children coming another step closer to becoming great ninja. As a special gift, all the children were given a 'mimic' sword. These were made for apprentices to the Seven Swordsmen. They would copy the form and abilities of one of the Seven Swords, but would only have a tenth of the power.

An odd thing happened when Naruto received his though; normally it would have copied Samehada and turned into its wrapped form. This sword was wrapped in bandages like Kisame's, but the shape was different. It was wider at the base and thinned out near the tip, opposed to Samehada who was cylindrical in shape. Naruto took off some bandages to see if anything else was different and found out his blade had red spiked scales, which where sharper and taller than Samehada's. Naruto just shrugged. He liked the new design and it suited him well.

Some of the kids tried out their news swords after they got home; getting tips from their seniors on how to handle the weapons. Kiba had the most trouble. His father had specifically trained his son to be strong enough to hold Kubikiribocho with ease, but he was still getting used to swinging the sword without falling on his back. Luckily he would get the hang of it by the time he met his new sensei. Suigetsu was notorious for being ruthless in his training, never giving any luxury to anyone. Having his nephew on Kiba's team wasn't going to make the sadistic man go easy on them. He had to be ready for whatever came tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's the third chapter. I know this chapter was shorter than the rest, but I hope you all like the where the story is going. Also, I was thinking of starting a DeviantArt account so I can depict my descriptions.**

 **The next chapter will be genin tests, so it should be a longer chapter. If you are wondering on the changes that happened to Naruto, Hinata, and Haku, I will explain it in chapter 5.** **Thanks for reading, see you next chapter! And don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Genin Tests

"Normal Speech"

'Quotes/Sound Effects'

' _Thoughts'_

" **Biju/Summoning"**

' _ **Biju/Summon thoughts'**_

 _Letters/Reports/Other Documents_

 **A/N: Hello everyone! It is Jiro Uzumaki. This is the fourth chapter of my adopted ff. Reviews and criticism are welcome, and if I made any errors then don't hesitate to point them out, or if you have a general question contact me via PM or review.**

 **This story was adopted from zorozangetsu688. You can read the description of the story on his profile. The first 5 chapters were written by him, but I edited them for grammar errors and added details. I do not have any OC's, yet, but might include them as very minor characters.**

 **Thanks for reading, be sure to review, and enjoy!**

 **I do not own Naruto. All rights of ownership are reserved by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Genin Tests**

The next day, at Training Ground 19, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata met up in the designated area they were told to go to meet their sensei. It was a clearing in the forest that overlooked a large river, flowing gently. It was actually a rather serene environment. They waited for a few minutes, sitting against a large rock in the center of the clearing.

Moments later a man appeared from the dense foliage, presumably their new sensei. He was a middle aged man with blue hair styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye was blue and his right eye was covered by an eye-patch. He wore a talisman in each ear with the kanji "to hear" written on them twice on each side. He wore a green haori with white trimmings and a basic grey striped suit underneath. He addressed the three with an aggressive glare trying to intimidate them. Unfortunately it had zero success. The three of them just gave blank stares waiting for the man to confirm or deny he was their sensei.

"My name is Ao Saizen I shall be your sensei from this day onward. You are to address me as Ao-sensei or sir. Is that understood?" They still just gave him those empty stares, so he had to re-assert himself. "I said is that understood!?" The three were so startled, they jumped and did a small salute and a quick 'yes sir'. He smirked triumphantly, pacing back and forth in front of them evaluating them.

"So, how about some introductions? Each of you tell me your name, hobbies, likes and dislikes, and dream for the future." He tried to ease the tension, laughing when the three of them let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.

"Maybe you should go first, to show us Ao-sensei." Hinata asked meekly, still a bit cautious of the man.

He chuckled at her question, but did as asked. "Alright. My name, as I told you, is Ao Saizen. My hobbies include bird watching and training." he saw the tall blonde one smirk a bit, trying to hold in a laugh. "My likes are subordinate ninja that listen to their superior officers. My dislikes are insubordinate punks who go off on their, doing what they want without thinking of the consequences." He shot a small side-glance at the blonde who turned away whistling innocently. "My dream for the future is to see the title of 'The Bloody Mist' be erased from our village's history. To see this village break away from the barbaric traditions kept up even today." He saw that the three actually admired his speech a lot. He smiled and pointed to the blonde-haired one. "Alright blondie, your next."

His eyebrow twitched at that comment. He hated when people called him that. "Hm! My name is Naruto Hoshigaki. My hobbies are training with my dad and swimming. My likes are my family and my girlfriends. My dislikes are pompous assholes who think there better than everyone just because there of 'noble blood'. You should make a name for yourself, not use someone else's to become popular! ...Anyway, my dream for the future is to become the greatest Seven Swordsmen in all of history." He seemed adamant about his dislike, but Ao didn't budge knowing it was probably a personal issue. He pointed over to the pink-haired girl next to Naruto.

She grinned, which had a bitter-sweet affect. The girl was definitely pretty, but the fanged teeth made her grin look a bit creepy. "My name is Sakura Kuriarare. My hobbies are sewing and training with my dad. My likes are my boyfriend Naruto." She wrapped an arm around the boy to make her point. "- my fellow girlfriend, Hinata, and stuffed animals. My dislikes are girls who rely on other people to fight for her. My dream is to live happily with Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan for the foreseeable future." Ao nodded in confirmation, impressed by her strong morals. He pointed to the red and black-haired girl, presumably Hinata.

"U-um, my name is Hinata Ringo. My hobbies are training and cooking with my mother. My likes are N-naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, and spending time with them and my family. My dislikes are people who try to belittle me, and call me weak." The girl looked down solemnly. She was often mocked that she was an inferior ninja because of her shy and meek personality. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder to re-assure her. She smiled in thanks and continued on. "My dreams for the future are to be strong enough to protect my family from any harm and keep us together for as long as possible."

Ao smiled at the three, glad that his student's already had excellent morals and dreams. Next was to test their skill level. "Alright, that's it for the introductions. Now we're going to test your battle skills." He pulled out a kunai and took a fighting stance, showing he was serious. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata took out their swords and took up a battle stance ready to fight against their new sensei.

"Heh. Alright, here's your test - a game of tag."

"...tag?" Questioned a dumbfounded Naruto, lowering his fighting stance.

"What?" Asked Hinata, unsure of their Sensei's training methods.

"That can't be right" commented Sakura, confused.

Ao shook his head amused. "That's right, were going to play a game of tag. The rules are simple - to win the game you have to hit me. There are only two rules. A 'tag' can only be made by physical contact, jutsu don't count. And once one of you tags me, they will be unable to help the remaining players for the rest of the game. You have an hour, anyone who has not tagged me before time runs out will be put back in the academy," he crossed his arms, and glared at them. Showing he was being fully serious in his decision.

"Held back? You can't do that!" Screamed Sakura indignantly. If one of them failed, odds are they'd never be allowed to be on the same team again.

"On the contrary. As sensei, I have full control over the team assignments. If I deem one or more of you unfit to be a ninja, I am fully within my right to hold them back a year to improve."

"He's right. Our sensei can decide our future based on how they judge our strength." Naruto said ominously. He tightened his grip on his Samehada and continued. "So let's show him we're strong enough! I don't know about you two, but I didn't just take one step forward to my goal, only to take two steps back!" Naruto lifted his triangular blade and pointed to Ao in challenge. The other two re-positioned their battle stances, ready to fight.

"All right then. Let's see what you got." Ao disappeared in a flurry of mist. The game was on.

Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata formed a triangle facing away from each other. They searched the forest for any movement, trying to find their sensei's whereabouts. Naruto's ear twitched and he swung his sword in a diagonal slash. The force from the attack caused several trees to topple over, severed in the middle. Ao jumped from his position after the trees fell, revealing he was hiding behind them.

While in the air, he did a quick set of hand seals. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" A large mass of water from the nearby river rose from its position and gathered around Ao to form a large body of water in the shape of a dragon. It charged ahead ready to wipe out the three.

Sakura acted quickly. "Sewing Needle Art: Thread Wall!" Instantly, a wall of wires appeared in front of them in the shape of a spider's web. The water dragon collided with the net, cutting it apart and turning it back to simple water. Hinata pointed one of her Kiba blades at the still airborne Ao. A bolt of lightning was fired from the electrically powered blade, hitting Ao directly. His body sizzled before bursting and turning to water, revealing it to be a water clone.

"Dammit! Where is he?" Naruto looked around the forest, searching for any movement. He used some hand signals to silently tell Hinata and Sakura to split up to look for Ao. They nodded in confirmation and went off in opposite directions. Naruto gripped Samehada, aggravated with this game already.

Naruto stopped in the forest to clear his mind. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He had to think of this clearly. Using a technique his dad taught him, he used chakra to enhance his sense of hearing and smell to pick up any trace. He waited, seeing if anything came within his range...and waited...and waited.

"Ahhhh! Where is he already?!" He threw his arms up, indignantly. Patience really wasn't one of his best traits.

"Temper, temper." A voice rung out behind him. He turned quickly to see Ao smirking at him. Naruto, in his anger, just swiped his blade at the man. It created another force wave, but went through the image of Ao. Another clone.

"What?! Oh come on! You've gotta be kidding me." All around him, more and more Ao clones appeared around him. They mocked him, saying he should control his anger. Naruto swung at each one, only phasing their image and doing nothing to damage the illusions.

Naruto stopped, not tired, just annoyed. He was obviously just trying to annoy him. Naruto walked away, hopeful of finding the real Ao. After the blonde cleared the foliage and was out of sight, all the Ao's disappeared but one. "Hm! Kid needs to learn some patience."

"Oh, I did." Ao turned around to face Naruto behind him, already finished forming with hand seal. "Red Water Style: Blood Shark Bomb!" Pulling moisture out of the air, Naruto formed a red mass of water that quickly took the shape of a thresher shark and charged at Ao. The older man had barely enough time to dodge the attack, sighing in relief. He looked to Naruto only to see the blonde smirk at him. He was confused until he felt a splitting pain in his back. He looked back to see the red shark had rammed his backside, and then promptly exploded into red water. The force of the explosion sent him flying into a tree.

Ao rebounded off the tree before he hit it, reducing the damage. He stood looking for Naruto. He had disappeared. Ao was deeply confused. _'What was that? The Shark Bomb Jutsu is supposed to disperse if it misses its target. And that red water, too. That can't be right.'_ There were cases were people using elemental jutsu would use a different color of that element. For example, someone using yellow lightning jutsu instead of the general blue. But earth and water style jutsu never changed color to his knowledge. He shrugged, keeping the knowledge in mind for later. The older man walked off to test the other two, cautiously watching out for the blonde, red water user.

He was searching through the foliage for one of the other two. He got lucky when he spotted Sakura, most likely looking for him. To test her reaction time, he through a kunai with an explosive tag into a tree next to her. She saw the bomb instantly and got the hell out of there as fast as she could.

'Hissssss...Boom!' The bomb went off, taking out a large chunk of the forest with it. Ao quickly used a water jutsu to extinguish the fire before it spread. He went down to the ground to find Sakura, out cold. _'Probably didn't make it out of the blast radius in time,'_ he thought, solemnly. He sighed and went down to pick up her body. Once he flipped it over, he saw that it was a stuffed doll. Wires exploded out of its stomach and clung to him. He tried to get them off, but he soon noticed that the doll was littered with explosive tags..."That bitch."

'Boom!' Her explosion was three times the size of his own. The fire left from the explosion encompassed a majority of the forest. Luckily, Hinata came to her rescue and put out the flames with a water jutsu. Naruto came soon after and put out the embers with few shark bombs. They watched victoriously as the smoke cleared and they saw the burned remains of their sensei...that promptly went up in a puff of smoke, being replaced by a log.

The three were pissed to say the least

"You-" Naruto

"Have-" Sakura

"Got-" Hinata

"- to be kidding me!" They all screamed at once. This guy just kept beating them with these basic jutsu. It was embarrassing. They heard a slow mocking clap behind them followed by laugh.

Ao was standing behind them, which had all three seeing red. "Hahaha. That was a pretty good effort. But I'm afraid you've already wasted a half hour. Now, let's get this over with." Ao took up a fighting stance, hands outstretched in a way that showed he was going to use a palm style.

The three pulled their swords ready to get this over with. Hinata charged first, disappearing from her position and re-appearing barely even an inch away from the older man. She tried stabbing him with her Kiba, but with two quick finger jabs to her biceps, her arms dropped. The swords fell out her hands. Too shocked to react, she couldn't block the palm thrust to her stomach that sent her colliding with a tree. Naruto went to go help her, while Sakura approached Ao.

Their sensei made a single hand-sign and gathered moisture in the air into a water sword. While the liquid form seemed like it would break at practically anything, the razor sharp edge promised pain.

Ao and Sakura collided blades with a resounding clash, their blades grinding against each other. Sakura, seeing that Ao was stronger, broke away, and tried to slash at him diagonally. Ao just sidestepped the attack and made a swipe with his sword. The blade made a cut in her side, causing her to fall to her knees in pain.

"Now then, since your time is almost up, how about we call it a day and you three don't have to take anymore punishment." He pointed his swords towards the girl's fallen form, giving her a chance to surrender.

"Please, like you could hurt me." She taunted, grinning at him from the ground.

Ao just looked at her confused. He was obviously winning, what was she talking about? Unless...

"It's called playing possum, you idiot!" Just then, she pulled on wires hidden in the ground. Ao felt something on his legs and looked down to see thread around his feet. The wires pulled him down, causing to fall on his back. As soon as he was falling, Sakura jumped from her prone position to punch him in the gut.

"Hehe, nice job. First rule of being a ninja is deception. You pass your test, congratulations." Ao unraveled himself from the wires as Sakura walked off in triumph, nose upturned. She leaned against a tree to watch Naruto and Hinata.

"My turn!" Naruto shouted in challenge, pointing Samehada at the older man. He charged his sensei, swing his sword for optimum damage. Ao calmly dodged Naruto's attacks, sidestepping and ducking the assaults with ease.

"You're going to have to do better than that." Ao crossed his arms and smiled smugly. Naruto just growled at the man. Since fighting with his sword wasn't helping him, he strapped it on his back and took a fighting stance.

"Let's see you dodge these. Red Water Style: Fin Blade Jutsu!" Red Water formed around Naruto's forearms and legs, shaping into long, red fins. Naruto charged the man again, actually getting some better results. The fins gave him better range in his attacks, and Ao, not used to blocking a fighting style like this, did his best against the new attack-form. He could dodge most of his punches and kicks, but every now and then he'd get cut by one of the fins.

 _'Time to get serious'._ Ao concentrated chakra into his hands, ready to use the same technique he used to stop Hinata. The first time it struck Naruto's arm, it just made him pause for a second. The nerve attack had little to no effect on the boy's diamond hard skin.

The fight continued, Naruto and Ao were at a standstill. Neither were doing much damage to the other. Although Naruto's fins were doing more damage. Ao tried to find an opening in the boy's technique, but that lapse in attention was all Naruto needed to give Ao a fierce left hook to the face.

"Yes! I did it. I finally tagged you!" Naruto did a small victory dance, glad that he was finally done with this stupid game.

Sakura and Hinata giggled at him, while Ao just chuckled getting up from the punch. _'Kids got a hell of a fist on him.'_

"Hinata it's your turn. Once you're done...we can...oh." he looked excitedly to his other girlfriend, only to remember that her arms were still disabled.

"I-it's alright Naruto-kun. I can still fight. Ah!" She winced trying to move her arms, still damaged. Naruto came over to help her, only to see Ao in his way.

"You remember the rules. You already tagged me, you're done."

"But Hinata-"

"Will have to finish this fight on her own. If a ninja can't carry their own weight once their injured, they're just dead weight." He crossed his arms, assuring his superiority. Naruto was going to argue, but Sakura stopped him. She dragged him away to the tree she was resting on. She assured him it would be alright, Hinata could handle herself.

The meek girl stood from her prone position, staggering on her feet. She tried picking up her swords, only to fail miserably. _'I have to use it. It's the only jutsu that can help me win this'_. She concentrated her chakra into her hands, imbuing them with the storm chakra of her second bloodline. Her mother taught her how to use jutsu without hand signs, since she couldn't normally use hand signs holding her swords.

She charged at Ao, swinging her arms at him left and right. The uncoordinated attacks were easily dodged by Ao, who was smirking smugly at the girl's pitiful attempts. She combined kicking motions into her attacks, increasing her fighting pattern, but it was still non-effective.

Naruto rose from his seat, hands balled into fists and teeth bared in fangs. Sakura held him back, fighting not to help Hinata herself. "We can't interfere. It's against the rules." That's when Naruto realized something. He smiled, then grinned which soon grew into a full-out laugh.

Sakura just looked at him like he'd gone nuts. He marched towards the two fighting, shocking Sakura.

The fight with Hinata and Ao was interrupted as Naruto's Samehada slashed in front of them and pointed towards Ao. He stood between them, looking his sensei in the eyes definitely.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! I told you, you weren't supposed to help someone once you had finished. You're going against orders!" Ao glared at him in disguised anger. But inside, he was smirking. He knew Hinata was their weak link, disabling her was the main focal point of this exercise. Now comes the lesson.

"Like I give two shits about orders! If one of my teammates are in danger, it's my responsibility to help them. Got a problem with that! Too bad." Naruto grinned triumphantly while Hinata just stared at him with stars in her eyes.

Sakura just looked at him in anger, only to realize what he was doing. She smiled gently when she saw how he put things together. She came to their side, drawing Nuibari, ready to defend her friends.

"So both of you are insubordinates. Do you know what the punishment for not following orders are you sorry excuse for genin?!" He grilled the group like a drill-sergeant, trying to scare them a little.

"Doesn't matter. If Hinata gets held back, so do us. Were a team, no matter what!" This time it was Sakura who stated their intent, not afraid of the punishment.

Ao glared at the three for a few more minutes, before he lost control and started laughing.

Naruto and Hinata just looked at him confused, but Sakura knew all too well what was happening.

"Hahaha! Congratulations, you are all officially genin of the Mist." Ao grinned at them proudly.

"Wait...what?" Once again Naruto's brain had snapped. Sakura giggled at his ignorance and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"In battle, there is a chance that one of your teammates will be injured. Your superior officer will tell you that you should leave them to fend them for themselves. But like Naruto said, it's a ninja's duty and responsibility to help their teammates. This test was to see if you would follow orders and fail, or help your teammate and pass. And you did wonderfully."

"So, we passed...we passed! We did it!" Naruto jumped in joy, grabbing both Hinata and Sakura in a bone-crushing hug. The two girls just giggled at happy he was acting and gave a kiss on each cheek.

"Hehehe. Welcome to Team 4!" Said Ao proudly to the now official genin.

They took the standard team picture. It had Ao standing in the back with his arms crossed and a proud grin on his face. Naruto was in the middle, grinning like a shark, an arm around both of his girls. Sakura was leaning against Naruto, winking with a smile and holding up a peace sign. Hinata was blushing slightly, poking her fingers together as she also leaned against Naruto. With that, they were officially registered as Team 4.

* * *

At Training Ground 17, Tenten, Lee, and Chojuro arrived at their designated meeting place. It was a large grassy area with a small waterfall coming off a cliff face and into a pond. The three looked around seeing if they could spot their sensei. Chojuro scouted the air to see if he might be in jumping through the forest a few meters away. Lee was too preoccupied, looking at the wide variety of wildlife in the area. Tenten was sitting near the pond, staring at Chojuro.

"Well, you're finally here. About time." They heard a voice above them, from the top of the small waterfall. The owner of the voice jumped down, revealing himself to the three.

He was a tall, thin young man with shoulder length brown hair. A large portion if his bangs covered the left half of his face, but revealed that he pale golden eyes. He wore a long, light blue kimono adorned with a small emblem of three bubbles on the back, and a pair of black pants underneath, with an orange sash. The kimono hung loose, exposing his chest and his almost anorexic figure. He approached the three in a slow walk.

"My name is Utakata Suzumura. I'm the sensei of Team 5, who I assume is you three." He took out a pipe from the sleeve of his kimono and put the tip in his mouth. The three genin looked at him oddly. They were expecting someone more intimidating.

"...well, are you team 5 or aren't you!?" The man asked impatiently. Three small bubbles came out the end of his pipe, startling the three.

"Y-yes. We're Team 5, Utakata-sensei." Said Chojuro, not wanting to make the man angry.

Utakata narrowed his eyes at the blue haired boy. "Don't call me sensei. Address me as Utakata or Utakata-san. The title of sensei isn't fit for me." Chojuro was about to ask, but Utakata beat him to it. "Why did I become a sensei? I've recently suffered the loss of a close friend. The Mizukage believes giving me a team will help me ignore that pain." Another three bubbles erupted from the man's pipe, making Tenten's eye twitch.

"Alright, what the hell are you smoking?!" She pointed at the man indigently. Lee and Chojuro looked at her like she was crazy, and Utakata just gave her a sideways glance, not sure what she was talking about.

"Tenten-chan, you shouldn't make accusations that our sensei does drugs - even if he might" even Lee thought this guy was on something, he just didn't seem like he had all his marbles. But that doesn't mean you should make a statement like that to your superior officer.

"What? No! I mean 'literally'. What are you smoking that makes bubbles come out instead of smoke? That's just...weird."

Utakata just continued to stare at her blankly, every now and then bubbles receding out of his pipe. "...none of your business." Was his simple reply. Tenten glared at the man for the stupid answer. This guy was really pissing her off.

She turned her nose up at him, crossing her arms and turning away. "Well, bubbles are stupid anyway. Nothing can compare to the excitement of an explosion." She grinned in pride, knowing she was definitely stronger than this weird sensei.

Although none of them noticed, Utakata's eyes narrowed at her statement. He slowly approached the girl at a snail's crawl, scaring the other two to no end. He got within a foot of Tenten and inhaled deeply.

 _'Water Style: Big Bubble Jutsu.'_ He blew out a large bubble from his pipe that was about the size of someone's head. The bubble slowly floated towards Tenten's face, and then...'Pop'.

The bubble exploded with enough force to send Tenten flying several feet back, the soft-grass breaking her fall somewhat. Chojuro ran to her side to see if she was okay. Lee reached for his Kabutowari, in case the man attacked any one of them. He was definitely unpredictable.

"Tenten, are you alright?" Chojuro checked her over to see if she had any major injuries. Her nose was busted from the close impact of the explosion, but other than that she was fine. Getting knocked back like that had knocked her out too, so he had to shake her slightly so she would wake up.

"Ugh, what happened?" She asked groggily. She put a hand to her forehead, wincing when she tried to pick herself up.

"Careful! Utakata hit you with an explosive bubble. It threw you back pretty far. Are you okay?" As soon as Tenten realized Chojuro was worrying over her, she blushed and completely forgot about her broken nose throbbing in pain.

"Oh me? I-I'm fine Chojuro-kun. No need to worry." She waved him off, not wanting to look weak in front of her crush.

Now that he knew he hadn't caused any serious damage, Utakata addressed the girl. "So, what do you think of my bubbles now 'firecracker'." The nickname had been started by the village for the girl after her first few fireworks pranks. Tenten accepted the name with pride, but this wasn't one of those times.

She growled at Utakata. The man just turned his back to the three and let out a weary sigh.

"Maybe you three are just not ready to be genin." They all looked at their sensei in shock.

"I mean, do you just let someone come up and attack you. That's just idiotic."

"But your our sensei, how were we supposed to know you would attack us?!" Chojuro interjected, trying to defend his team's actions.

"You have no legitimate confirmation of that. I could have been lying to you three this whole time. Hell, I'm not even wearing a Mist headband. I might not even be from this village." It was true. They couldn't spot where he had his headband, he didn't wear it anywhere on his person.

"I should just send you lot back to the academy. Maybe in a few more years you'll be read-" he was cut off as a kunai whizzed past his head, snipping a piece of his hair. He looked back to see Tenten, holding out her hand. Probably the one who threw it.

"There's no way were going back to the academy. We've come too far." She glared at Utakata defiantly, Lee and even Chojuro joining her.

"Tenten is right! Let us prove we are worthy enough for the title of Genin." Lee was pumped up for a fight, ready to do anything so he could stay on his team.

"...very well. How about a game?"

"A game? What kind?" asked Chojuro, curiously.

"It's simple. I'll use my bubble jutsu until I run out of chakra. You three will have to pop all the bubble before they hit the ground. There is no limit to how you can stop the bubbles or what jutsu or weapons you can use. Understand?"

"Popping bubbles...that's it. Hahaha, you've gotta be kidding me. This is gonna be a piece of cake." Tenten unsealed her Shibuki from a sealing scroll on her hip. The large weapon was too heavy and cumbersome to carry around with her constantly. Lee took out his Kabutowari from under his poncho and Chojuro grabbed some Kunai from his leg pouch.

"Ready...let's begin! Water style: Infinite Bubble Bomb Jutsu!" Utakata made a hand sign with one hand and used the other to steady his pipe. Several hundred bubbles came through the receding end, filling up the area quickly. Utakata, not wanting to be caught up in any explosion, jumped up to the top of the waterfall.

Tenten charged in, igniting the explosive tags on her weapon. With a large swing of her sword, a huge explosion enveloped the area. When the smoke cleared, a large portion of the bubbles were gone. But more were still sinking fast.

Lee jumped up to the bubbles still high up in the air. He spun his body, Kabutowari in hand, to create a small whirlwind that wiped out another large chunk of the bubbles. The last few were snuffed out by the shuriken thrown by Chojuro.

As soon as the air was clean of bubbles, Utakata used the Infinite Bubble Jutsu, again. This time there were twice as many bubbles filling the air, blocking the three genin's view of the sky.

The three genin repeated their actions. Tenten using an explosion to take out the majority of the bubbles, Lee going up to take down the ones in the air, and Chojuro taking care of the leftovers. They continued like this for a while, Tenten and Lee getting exhausted over the continued use of their swords.

'Pant' "We can't keep this up Tenten." Lee was on barely standing, his advanced stamina letting him last longer. Tenten was on her knees, tossing that sword around took a lot of strength, not to mention the chakra she needed to supply for the explosives.

"Yes...we...can. We...just need...to wait for him...to run out of chakra." Tenten was leaning against a tree, barely even standing. She was panting harshly in-between breaths. Chojuro looked between his teammates and the new round of bubbles and decided to start pulling his own weight.

He adjusted his glasses and jumped up into the air, where he would have optimum range for his attack. "Vibration Style: Wave Pulse Jutsu!" Chojuro outstretched his hand, using the other to steady his attack. An invisible force vibrated through the air, eradicating the bubbles completely and heading straight for Utakata.

 _'Uh-oh'_. Utakata quickly jumped away from the attack, unfortunately still getting his foot caught in the wave. It made him trip, causing him to fall to the ground. Thankfully, he adjusted his body to land on the water, channeling chakra to his feet to stand on it.

"Well, that was certainly interesting. Vibration release is a forbidden style that is both restricted and banned from use. How can you use that technique, let alone know it?" Utakata narrowed his eyes at the boy.

The vibration release jutsu emits a wave of energy that can literally make an opponent rip into pieces. More often than not, the user would end up the same. But this boy standing before him had no visible injuries from the jutsu, just exhaustion from using such a chakra-consuming technique.

"You said we could use any jutsu to destroy the bubbles." He said slightly panting, defending his use of the forbidden jutsu.

"And attacking me? A jutsu that powerful would rip right through a forest and still have the strength to kill a bear." Utakata questioned

"You said we could use any method to stop the bubbles. Your chakra seems to be almost limitless, almost as much as Naruto's. The bubble technique only uses a small amount of chakra, but producing that many in one go would take a huge toll on the person. I'm guessing the only way to stop the bubbles from coming is knock you out. Correct?"

Utakata just blew a few bubbles from his pipe, giving him a blank stare. The bubbles were popped by three shuriken that imbedded themselves in the trees. Utakata looked past Chojuro to see that Lee and Tenten had gotten some energy back after some rest.

He stared at them, still confident that they wouldn't pass and he could give them off to another sensei. His thoughts were interrupted by a small hissing sound. He turned back and saw that one of the shuriken had an explosive seal CARVED into the metal. _'Shit'_.

The seal went off; blowing apart the shuriken and the tree it was imbedded into. Utakata acted quickly, incasing himself in a chakra enforced bubble. _'Smart move. Without the tag, I would have never noticed that shuriken had the explosive seal. Very impressive'._ He turned back to three, but they had disappeared.

He looked all over, but found no evidence of where they could be. He heard a yell, and felt a huge impact on his bubble barrier. He saw that Lee had smashed the hammer end of his Kabutowari against his bubble, making bounce out of place. He looked to where he would collide and saw Chojuro in the waiting, his hands outstretched.

"Vibration Style: Pulse Wall Jutsu!" The vibrative force created an invisible barrier that made Utakata bounce off of it...and right back into Lee. The two kept this up for a while, bouncing him like a pinball. He was starting to get dizzy from being bounced around, but if he let up, one of those two would wreck him with their attacks. Speaking of them, were was the girl?

He was starting to get motion sickness from being bounced back and forth, so his concentration on his bubble was breaking. It was becoming deformed, small holes forming. That's the moment when Tenten revealed herself. She was waiting for him, her Shibuki held back like a baseball bat. As soon as his bubble collided, she swung. A huge explosion knocked him back against the waterfall. His kimono had burn marks and large holes where he had taken damage.

He slid down the waterfall, landing in the waterfall with a resounding splash. The three came running to his prone form, seeing if he was seriously injured...well, most of them. Tenten stood over him triumphantly, a smug smile planted firmly on her face.

"How was that Utakata-sensei?" She asked, wanting to hear him admit defeat.

"Don't call me sensei. It's just Utaka-blegh!" He barfed in the pond before he could finish his retort. The three backed up away from the man, not wanting to get pucked on.

"So...did we pass?" Asked Lee awkwardly.

He held up a finger, telling them to wait, then "B-blegh!" He barfed again. They waited a few more minutes for him to get over his motion-sickness.

"Are you done already?" Asked Tenten impatiently.

"...Yes, I think I-blegh!" The three genin groaned in aggravation and disgust.

"Alright...I think...that was the last one. You three did well. Congratulations, your now officially genin." He gave them a small smile, proud that they had passed. It didn't have the full effect since he still had a bit of barf on his bottom lip.

The three genin were too excited to tell him, simply cheering in joy. Tenten, in her excitement, had wrapped her arms around Chojuro and hugged him close. Chojuro just looked at her oddly. When she finally realized what she was doing, she pushed him away, saying something about him getting too close while she turned away blushing deeply.

They took the traditional team picture. Utakata in the back, his pipe in his mouth. Lee stood to the left, giving a thumbs up and smiling brightly. Chojuro was in the center, a small smile on his face. Tenten was to the right, an arm around Chojuro and winking at the camera. They were now officially genin of the Mist.

"How about we get something to eat to celebrate?" Utakata suggested. The other three agreed that game really took a lot of energy out of them.

"Where should we go?" Asked Chojuro curiously.

Tenten thought about it, and then remembered their friends. Naruto was probably already done with his test; there was no way he wouldn't pass.

"Let's go to that ramen place. If Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata are done, you know they'll go there to celebrate."

"Naruto? Naruto Hoshigaki?" Asked their sensei.

Lee nodded vigorously. "Yes, Naruto is one of our close friends. But how do you know of him Utakata-sensei?" Asked Lee.

"I told you not to call me - ugh! Forget it. And I know about Naruto because he and I are alike in some ways. I'd like to meet him." Utakata smiled at the three. Tenten impatiently hurried off, Chojuro and Lee barely keeping up with her. Utakata followed, chuckling slightly. _'Naruto, you and I are the only two left now. Maybe I can help you so you don't end up like Yagura'._ On that depressing note, Utakata followed his students to the 'ramen place'.

* * *

At Training Ground 23, Kiba, Haku, and Akamaru arrived at the spot where they would meet their sensei. It was a large lake near the edge of the village. They searched for their other teammate, but found no trace of him.

"Would you let go of me already!?" They heard a voice coming from the other end of the lake. They used the water-walking technique taught to them by their parents to see what was going on. They found Shikamaru, but he was head locked by their sensei, who was giving him a noogie.

"Uncle Suigetsu, knock it off!"

"No way! I finally get the chance to show my goody-two shoes brother that my training is better than his. Be glad that you get to learn from the best." Suigetsu noticed the other two staring at him, and stopped his assault on his nephew. He waved to them, still holding Shikamaru in the headlock.

Suigetsu had a similar appearance to his brother, but his hair was pure white with a light blue tint. He had purple eyes and wore a purple, sleeveless shirt and grey pants. He and Mangetsu were like night and day. While Mangetsu was very calm and lighthearted, Suigetsu was impatient, rowdy, and ruthless. His training especially.

Haku giggled at how they were interacting, while Kiba just stared at them with a blank look. Akamaru barked at the two to say hello.

Suigetsu let go of Shikamaru, letting him join his teammates. Suigetsu stood and dusted himself off. He looked directly at the three and took on a serious look on his face, something that was rare for the grinning swordsmen.

"Alright, since we already know each other, let's get this show on the road. Now, I would pass you three right now. But unfortunately, I have to 'test your skills', first. So, how about a game of last man standing?" At the last statement, he broke into another fanged grin.

"What?! Against you? But your a jonin. We can't beat you." Declared Shikamaru, thinking his uncle was being unfair. Kiba nodded in agreement, certain he'd lose against a monster like Suigetsu.

Suigetsu pouted at how they were acting, but waved off their complaints. "Fine, fine. Ya bunch of babies. I'll cut you a deal. To beat me, all you have to do is make me draw blood. How's that sound?" Shikamaru's eyes widened when he realized what Suigetsu was planning. He was about to complain, but Kiba interrupted him.

"Deal! That's easy. We can definitely do this, right sis?" Haku looked at him like he'd signed their deathbed, while Shikamaru and Akamaru just face-palmed at how much of an idiot their teammate was.

Suigetsu was grinning like a shark, chuckling ominously. "Hehehe. Well then, now that we've set the conditions, we can begin." Suigetsu's body melted into water, moving passed the stunned genin's feet and into the lake.

"Whoa! That was so cool. Hey, Shikamaru, can you do that?" Asked Kiba excitedly. Shikamaru just groaned at the boy's stupidity.

"No. Only those with the Hozuki bloodline have an ability like that. I'm adopted, just like you. Remember?" Asked the lazy boy rhetorically. Kiba smiled nervously and apologized.

"Um, maybe we should be paying attention to Suigetsu-sensei." Interjected Haku, trying to stop an argument between the two.

'Woof, woof.' Akamaru barked in agreement.

"She's right...you really shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent." They heard the disembodied voice of their sensei ring out through the area. They looked out onto the lake, but couldn't spot him.

Kiba unfastened his Kubikiribocho from his back, readying the large sword for combat. He, also, used the Man-Beast Clone Jutsu on Akamaru, so there were to Kibas ready for battle. Haku took some senbon from her hip-pouch, and Shikamaru unraveled his own Hiramekarei and channeled it with chakra.

"Good, you're prepared...wouldn't want to hit an unarmed target."

"Target? Oh, I'll show you a target!" Kiba growled at the voice, annoyed that he didn't take them seriously as opponents.

"I'm sure you will. Water Style: Multi-Water Dragon Jutsu!" Seven water dragons formed from the base of the lake, charging at the four shinobi.

Both Kibas jumped into the air for a counter-attack. With two quick swipes of their swords, the two Kibas decapitated two of the dragons each, making them disperse back into water. Haku used her bloodline to freeze the first one that attacked her. Then, sliding down its back, hit the other one with well-placed senbon in the dragon's weak points. Both Momochi siblings landed on the water, readying their weapons for Suigetsu's next assault.

The last one weas still heading straight for Shikamaru, who only looked to the dragons with a blank stare. He lifted his sword, which flared with chakra, and made a powerful horizontal slash at the dragon. The gathered chakra from his sword traveled with the force of the attack and cut the dragon in half.

"Not bad...not bad at all." Suigetsu emerged from the water, his body only half-formed. He had his arms crossed looking at the Momochi siblings with a smug smile.

"Try this on for size. Secret Hozuki Style: Water Intake Jutsu!" Suigetsu's bottom jaw lengthened enough for it to reach under the surface of the lake. The Kibas and Haku quickly saw that Suigetsu was inhaling the water of the lake and progressively becoming larger. They were starting sucked in, too.

The three ran from the jutsu, afraid they'd get swallowed up two. Unfortunately, running on the surface of the lake was just making them run in place. Suigetsu expanded the length of his jaw again, the rush of the intake increasing by twice its power. The increase in movement made Haku slip, falling into the water and getting washed away into Suigetsu's mouth. The Kibas tried to save her, but ended up falling in, too, and then promptly inhaled by Suigetsu. Shikamaru could only look on in horror.

Once he was sure he had secured the three, he stopped inhaling water and stood. By the time he had stopped, half the lake was gone. Once Shikamaru saw his uncle at his full height, he was so afraid he fell back on the ground. Suigetsu was the size of a house now, being in a semi-solid liquid form. His lower jaw bulged with water, and inside his stomach you could see Kiba, Haku, and a de-cloned Akamaru, unconscious.

"What are you gonna do now Shikamaru? If you attack me, you risk hurting your friends. Decide quickly, they don't have much air." Suigetsu's distorted voice mocked Shikamaru. The boy stood from his prone position, gripping his sword in aggravation.

 _'I have to figure out how to get those two out of him. But how?'_ Shikamaru thought with worry. He went over multiple situations in his head, seeing if he could come up with any good possibilities. He came up with one, but he'd have to reveal the secret he'd been keeping for the last few years.

 _'Here goes nothing'._ Shikamaru charged at the enlarged form of Suigetsu, readying his sword for an attack. Suigetsu tried to hit him with a swipe of one of his large arms, Shikamaru jumping over the arm to avoid the attack. The boy raised his sword overhead and stabbed it into Suigetsu's chest, making sure he avoided hurting Haku and Kiba. The sword, of course, made no damage; it slipped right through Suigetsu's liquid form.

Shikamaru knew that the attack wouldn't cause any damage, but he needed Hiramekarei's special properties to do what he was planning. He created a hand-sign to have his sword channel his chakra into ropes that he forced into Suigetsu's body. The ropes wrapped around Haku, Kiba, and Akamaru, encasing them in chakra barriers.

Then, using several different hand seals, he put his hand on Suigetsu's face. Their sensei had no clue what the boy was planning, and could only watch in curiosity, sure that the boy couldn't hurt him. Finishing the set of hand seals, Shikamaru used the jutsu he'd learned in secret.

"Matter Transition Jutsu: Liquid to Gas!" Suigetsu just looked at him in confusion. He'd never heard of such a jutsu. Although he was clueless of the details of the jutsu, it didn't take long to see the results. His body had started boiling over, causing him extreme pain. His whole body was on fire, but the pain soon faded, and he found himself floating above Shikamaru and the Momochi's.

"Hey, are you three alright?" Asked Shikamaru worriedly. He had made those ropes of chakra so his teammates wouldn't have been affected by his jutsu. He saw that they were visibly fine, just a bit wet. Haku, Kiba, and Akamaru stood on the surface of the water, coughing up the quantity built up in their lungs when they were unconscious in Suigetsu.

Kiba coughed to clear his lungs, glad to still be alive. "Yeah, I think so. What the hell happened?" He looked around for Suigetsu, trying to find his sensei so he could beat the man to a bloody pulp for swallowing him, his sister, and his partner. But he couldn't find any trace of his cruel sensei. All he could see around them was a huge cloud of steam surrounding them.

Shikamaru looked at the steam cloud dully, putting his hands in his pocket. "I had to use my Matter Transition Jutsu to get you guys out of there."

"Matter Trans-whatty what Jutsu?" Asked Kiba confused. Shikamaru sighed in aggravation, while Haku just giggled at her brother's ignorance.

"Matter 'Transition'. It's a jutsu I found when going through the archives." As the lazy boy was explaining, the steam had started to gather into one spot. "It's from an old scroll taken from the Hidden Stone. A lot of their jutsu have involved changing the size and weight of matter. I figured I could find a jutsu that could help me imitate the Hozuki bloodline. I guess it paid off." Shikamaru was now facing towards the shape in which the steam had gathered into.

It was a loosely formed version of Suigetsu. The figure made a hand sign, and soon after water from the lake formed around him. After a few seconds, the water had solidified into their sensei, who was grinning viscously at the four genin, especially Shikamaru.

"Very impressive. I can honestly call you a Hozuki now, Shikamaru. I'm guessing you figured I'd be able to reform my body into water and then back to normal. Right?"

"Actually, I had no idea. I just took a shot in the dark and hoped it worked." Haku, Kiba, Akamaru, and Suigetsu just looked at the boy sweat dropping. If that jutsu had gone wrong, they could have all been turned into steam and disappeared into the air.

"We'll, accident or not, you did well. But you two still need to prove yourselves." Suigetsu pointed out to the Momochi siblings in challenge. Kiba got his sword out and transformed Akamaru. They were ready to deal some payback. Haku readied herself, creating ice on the surface of the water were she stood.

"Fine then, let's go!" The Kibas charged at the man like cavemen, swinging their swords at their sensei. And, just like when Shikamaru stabbed his sword into Suigetsu, they passed right through his semi-liquid form. The man just laughed at the Kibas' pitiful attempt. He formed his hands into large, liquid butcher sword. He figured he would humor the clones by matching blades with them.

Their swords collided, the three swordsmen fighting for dominance in the fight. Suigetsu had the advantage with his ability to modify the sharpness and density of his water blades. The Kibas tried their best, but had to break away when they knew they couldn't break through their sensei's defense. Haku came charging from behind the clones, taking advantage of the distraction of the battle.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" The attack swept up a huge gust of wind that went straight for Suigetsu. Their sensei was too surprised by the sudden attack to counter it, and got blown back onto the shore of the lake.

"Nice job Haku. If we can get him away from the water, we can decrease his fighting capabilities." Complemented Shikamaru. Haku smiled at the gesture, while Kiba sulked in annoyance to the side.

"So we can't hit him with water jutsu, which eliminates most of our jutsu. And we can't use physical attacks since they'll go right through him. Is that about right?" Asked Kiba sarcastically.

Shikamaru and Haku nodded in sync, depressed that they were in such a hopeless situation.

"Haku can use wind, ice, and boil jutsu, that's an advantage." Shikamaru pointed out.

"I can use a few earth style, but not that many. Hey! What about that jutsu you used to free us?" Asked Kiba, adding in his two cents.

Shikamaru shook his head negatively. "No, using that jutsu against a human is too dangerous. I figured a Hozuki would be the only person able to put themselves back together after being turned into steam. That was the only reason I used it against Suigetsu-sensei, unless..." Shikamaru adopted a thinking pose.

"I know that look. You've got a plan, right!?" Asked Haku excitedly.

"...maybe, but it's risky. It'll be my first time using it in battle. I need you two to distract him, I'll handle it from there." Haku and Akamaru nodded in confirmation, while Kiba just looked off to the side, annoyed that he had been left out of the loop again.

Shikamaru made a hand sign, concentrating and focusing his chakra so he wouldn't mess up this jutsu. While he was doing that, Haku and the Kiba clones approached Suigetsu, who was waiting for them on the shore.

"Finally ready, huh? Well, let's see what you got?!" Suigetsu formed both his arms into water blades, expecting both Kibas to try and clash swords with him, again, and then Haku sneaking in an attack like last time. What he didn't expect was for the Kibas to use their swords to make a shockwave that created a wave, and then Haku using her bloodline to freeze that wave so it came rushing for Suigetsu like a freight train.

He turned his body to water at the moment of impact, but still got splashed against the ground when the frozen wave slammed into him. It was too large to move through his body, so all he did was lessen the damage. Once he turned back, he had a difficult time moving the heavy slab of ice off his body. He shifted mass to his arms so he could get enough strength to finally lift the huge slab of ice off of him.

He quickly assessed the situation, looking for the Momochi siblings. They were gone from their original position, obviously, but he still couldn't find any trace of then. He heard the call of a jutsu and looked up to see a ball of water coming directly at him. With a smug smile, he gladly took the high velocity ball of water into his body, absorbing it.

"I thought you would have learned that water doesn't hurt me, it just makes me stronger!" To emphasize his point, he made another water blade from his hand which bore a striking resemblance to Kubikiribocho.

The Momochi siblings appeared from their positions, determined looks on their faces. Their sensei charged at the three, making them separate to avoid the attack. Kiba and Akamaru tried to hit him while his back was turned, but Suigetsu quickly countered. Once again, they were in a battle of blades, fighting for dominance.

Haku used the distraction to make her move. "Ice Style: frozen Wind Jutsu!" Breathing out a huge blast of cold air, Haku used her bloodline to freeze Suigetsu in place. Thankfully, Suigetsu blocked Kiba and Akamaru from the jutsu so they weren't hit as well. Suigetsu looked back the girl with a viscous smile on his face.

"Is that the best you got rookie? I can slip out of this easy!" Suigetsu used his bloodline to turn his body to water so he could escape. Unfortunately he didn't get the chance.

Just as he was turning completely to water, two arms emerged from his torso, disturbing everyone greatly.

The arms formed a familiar set of hand seals, and a gargled voice spoke out from Suigetsu's semi-liquid body.

"Matter Transition Jutsu: Liquid to Solid!" Suigetsu's eyes widened when he heard that. His body instantly turned back to human. He tried changing back, but the jutsu in place would just revert him back.

"Kiba, hurry! I can't hold him in this form for long." The gargled voice spoke out from inside Suigetsu. Kiba grinned in victory. He readied his blade and swung, being careful not to damage Suigetsu's torso. The slash gave his arm a huge gash, penetrating deeply and causing his arm to bleed profusely.

"Yes! We won! Eat that Suigetsu-sensei." Kiba was dancing in victory, glad to have beaten their demon of a sensei. Haku approached Suigetsu to pull on the arms still disturbingly extending out of their sensei's torso. With one final tug, she pulled out Shikamaru who was coughing up water.

"Wh-what the hell!? How'd you get into my body, you weren't even in that figh-!" Suigetsu was outraged at how he didn't notice Shikamaru in him, when he realized the moment he probably entered into his body. That water ball! Why would they use a weak jutsu like that when they already knew he could absorb any water attack?

Still coughing up water, Shikamaru saw the awestruck look on his uncle's face, signaling he had figured out what happened. "Got you, didn't I? I used my Matter Transition Jutsu to turn myself into water, and then had Haku attack you with me, making it look like a jutsu. I knew you'd be too proud to dodge, so you just absorbed me. When Haku trapped you in the ice, I made my move and used that same jutsu to make you solid long enough for Kiba to cut you." Shikamaru smirked at their sensei, who was being bandaged by Haku.

Suigetsu just grinned in joy. "Hahaha! Yep, you definitely got me kid. I can already tell you guys are gonna be one hell of a team."

"Wait," Kiba interjected. "If you used that matter whatever jutsu to make him solid while you were still inside, wouldn't you guys have been fused together or something?" He asked confused.

Shikamaru just shook his head, smirking at his friend's ignorance. "No. I used Hiramekarei so my chakra would be separate from his. It was a long shot tactic, but I'm sure dad will be proud I finally beat you."

Suigetsu grew a bit annoyed on that sour note. He hated when his brother tried to one-up him, and he never heard the end of how proud he was of Shikamaru.

"Don't get too cocky. You didn't beat me by yourself after all. A ninja needs teammates, even I know that." Said Suigetsu, kindly smiling at Haku who was still repairing his arm. Although almost unnoticeable, she still blushed a bit at the complement.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Shikamaru looked off in the distance. He was thinking about how truly right he was. Haku's bloodline froze Suigetsu in place so Kiba wouldn't miss his chance, and Kiba and Akamaru were the backbones of their team. While he wasn't as intelligent as him, Akamaru, and Haku, he was physically the strongest of them. Plus, he was the only one who could match Suigetsu in a sword battle.

Suigetsu got up, arm now fully bandaged. He stretched his body, enjoying the workout his student's gave him. "Alright, how about we go celebrate."

Haku remembered that Naruto would probably already be finished with his test, so he would go to that ramen place to celebrate. Chojuro, Lee and Tenten would figure that out, too, and go there, so it seemed like the ideal meeting spot for them all. She told her suggestion to her team, who liked the idea.

Before he forgot, Suigetsu had them do their customary team photo. Suigetsu was in the back, giving a headlock to Kiba and Shikamaru standing to the sides. Haku was in the center, her serene smile still in place. Akamaru was sitting in from of Haku with a happy smile on his furry face. After their photo, the five were off to see how their friends had endured and tell their own adventure.

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 **A/N: Well, that's the fourth chapter. This chapter should compensate for how short the last chapter was. Also, I was thinking of starting a DeviantArt account so I can depict my descriptions.**

 **The next chapter will be the little celebration, so it should be an average length chapter. If you are wondering on the changes that happened to Naruto, Hinata, and Haku, I will explain it in the next chapter.** **Thanks for reading, see you next chapter! And don't forget to review!**


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